Beast
by Cow-Lover2214
Summary: A new girl comes to the camp, and she isn't your everyday girl. She has a tough as nails heart, and a mean streak but what's really behind all that is a pure kind heart. Her presence there takes a toll and she'll make friends and might even capture a few hearts while trying to deal with her past. OCx? This story is different than your usual fanfics about a girl coming to the camp.
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

A girl with pale bluish black hair walked quietly down the sidewalk, glancing over her shoulder almost if she is waiting for someone to attack. She kept her eyes down when she wasn't glancing over her shoulder, no wanting to make eye contact with anybody, even though there was nobody around. She turned on her heel and walked swiftly into a house throwing a loud party. It was a nice neighborhood that she was in, even right now during the night time it had a peaceful atmosphere; too bad it wouldn't be nice anymore. The dark haired girl pulled the light gray hood of her hoodie up covering the features of her face. She walked in quietly to the house while it blasted with some unknown pop music. Teens everywhere held cups filled with alcohol, some were dancing, and some were just standing on the sidelines talking; the girl moved lightly through the crowd, going unnoticed and trying not to hit into anybody.

She finally spotted her target: it was a tall, tan, bulky, man with a red jock jacket on. He was talking to this blonde girl who was most likely a cheerleader. The cheerleader looked happy, in fact overjoyed, that the jock was talking to her, but you could see in the jock's eyes he was completely bored with the blonde. The hooded girl walked over to the jock, and the jocks eyes instantly lightened up. "Bye Jessie," he said, blowing off the blonde cheerleader. The cheerleader shot daggers at the hooded girl but left nonetheless.

"Hey, you looked bored, I was wondering if you maybe needed someone entertain you," the hooded girl said.

"Oh yeah, what do you got in mind," the jock asked, giving her a devilish smirk. They smiled at each other confirming what the other wanted, and then the jock started to lead the girl upstairs, not noticing that while they walked by the boom box, the hooded girl turned up the sound to the highest possible volume to drown out the sound of what she had planned for that night.

They walked up the stairs, the jock anxious, and the hooded girl neutral. They find an empty bedroom and the jock gets even more excited. He walked over to the girl and slips the hood down to kiss her, but the second he sees her face his eyes goes wide and he falls back a step in fear, "You! Wh-what… are you doing… here" he stuttered.

The girl just smiled in response, "isn't it obvious Michael, I'm here for my revenge," she said lightly, humor lacing her voice. The jock stared at her in shock, and she pulled out a gun that she hid in the back of her pants. She shoots his stomach, then both of his arm, and legs. Michael screams in pain, but no one comes because the shots and screams were drowned out by the music.

"Next time when you rape a girl, keep in mind revenge taints even the purest souls," the girl said, then made her leave, while Michael stayed on the ground, unable to speak because of the pain. The girl pulls of her hood again and leaves slowly, not wanting to raise suspicion of the people who are still sober. Once outside, the girl smiled up at the sky, "You're finally free Brooke," she whispered to herself.

**Chapter 1: This Ain't No Girl Scouts**

Brooke Grayson sat on the bus watching as nothingness passed through the window, she now really doubted that there was actually a lake at Camp Green Lake. She had to admit though, it was smart place for young criminals, there wasn't much water out here if it wasn't obvious, so if you ran away, you died, and they wouldn't care because it's one less body to take care of.

They finally arrived some sort of civilization, and the second she stepped off the bus, a voice screams, "fresh meat!" Boys walk over near the bus, but then they see Brooke and their eyes go wide.

"Whoa, it's a girl."

"Wow, she's hot."

"Hey sexy, want to come to my ten tonight!"

"Why is there a girl here?"

Brooke ignored the questions and kept walking afraid if she stopped the guard was going to push her down with how rough he was holding her cuffed hands. They walked in slightly dark room, and cold air spreads along Brooke's skin. There was a man sitting in a chair, he looked like he was trying to act tough, "I'm Mr. Sir, and you'll call me by that, clear," he said. Brooke guessed he called himself that because he probably had a middle name that was Beth or Mary, and was ashamed of his name.

"Crystal," Brooke answered stoically.

"You'll get two pairs of clothes, one for working, the other for relaxing, and you'll receive shower tokens. They have built a shower stall that you'll just use," he explained. Brooke just cocked her head to the side.

"What do you mean," she asked.

"Haven't you noticed already, this is just suppose to be a boys only camp, but for some reason you were sent to us," he said. Brooke took a deep breath in then realized he was right, she hadn't seen a single girl yet.

"Look, this ain't no girl scouts, you have a dig a hole everyday, five feet wide, five feet deep, your shovel will be your measuring stick, you hear," he said, then brought me over to another room, and handed me some clothes. "Change," he ordered.

"Yes Mr. Sir," Brooke said and changed in clothes, tying the top half of the orange jump suit around my waist.

Then and nerdy looking guy came in. "Hello, I'm Mr. Pendanski, and let me just say even though you've done terrible things doesn't make you a terrible person," he said with a large smile. Brooke raised a brow at him, guessing he was the 'supporter' or 'helper' for the boys here. She grabbed her duffle bag and followed him out of the air-conditioned room.

"I'm Brooke," Brooke said, running a hand through her pale bluish black hair.

"Nice name, now you'll be in tent-D, D stands for diligence," Mr. P explained. "Your bunk mates are nice boys when you get to know them, and just warning, they make up crazy nicknames for each other."

Brooke looked confused for a second then shook her head. She walked into the tent to find it empty. "Your bunk mates must be at the Wreck Room, here's your bunk though, and I'll leave you to get comfortable," he said then took his leave.

Once his presence was gone Brooke flopped onto her cot, kicking up her feet. She stared absently at the ceiling, wondering about how Ian was doing, the only problem with her here was she couldn't visit Ian. She replayed in her mind the reason why she was here when her thoughts were interrupted by a small boy walking into the tent. Brooke instantly recognized the boy. She sat up, "H-Hector," she said hesitantly.

"Brooke," he said back in shock. "What are you doing here," he asked, frowning slightly.

"What am I doing here, what are you doing here," she asked in complete daze.

Hector was about to answer when he was cut short due to a couple of boys talking outside of the tent. "Yeah, there's a girl here," a voice said with a thick Mexican accent. Brooke laid back down on the mattress watching the ceiling again, right now wishing she was anywhere but here.

A group of boys walked in and instantly noticed Brooke. "Boys, just in time," Mr. P said, walking in the tent. "This is your new bunk mate Brooke, Brooke, this is Alan, Theodore, Rex, Jose, Ricky, and I assume you've already met Hector."

"Don't listen to Mom, the names X-Ray, and that's Armpit, Magnet, Squid, Zigzag, and Zero, got that," the guy now known as X-Ray says. Brooke nods her head in understanding, realizing this was what Mr. P was talking about before.

"Mom, why is there a girl here, I mean, this camp is full of _boys, _and there are some boys here because they did something to a girl," Squid said, his voice dripping with southern accent.

"We don't know either, she was just sent here, now about that problem you were talking about, well I'm putting Brooke into your care, that means you're going to have to watch her to make sure none of the other boys do something to her," Mr.P- 'Mom' said.

"What!" Brooke exclaimed, jumping up from her spot on the bed to stand in front of Mom. "No offense mister, but I don't need any babysitters, I am capable of taking care of myself," Brooke stated, hating the fact he thought she wasn't capable of taking care of those boys herself.

"Squid, you'll be her mentor," Mom said, turning to him, and ignoring Brooke's cries of protest. He quickly left before Squid could voice his opinion.

"How annoying," Brooke grunted quietly.

"Look, just cause you a girl, doesn't mean we'll go easy on you," Squid stated. He leaning into her face giving her a menacing stare, and she did something that surprised everybody, she leaned in forward too, shooting daggers right back at him.

"I don't want you to go easy on me, in fact, ignore what 'Mom' said earlier, I don't need you to babysit me, in fact, I refuse for you to babysit me," she growled back. Squid took a step back unfazed and Brooke sent one last glare his way then turned her back to on the cot. Brooke's lace were untied so she sat there tying them unaware the boys were staring at her with mixed emotions. "What," she growled when she finally noticed.

"You got guts girl, I'll give you that," X-Ray said.

"She just needs to watch her back, with that dirty mouth of her she's 'gonna get into bunch of trouble," Squid stated.

"Aw, do you care about her now Squid, was it love at first fight," Magnet joked. Squid scowled sending a sharp glare his way.

"No, it was more of _hate _at first sight," Brooke growled, which caused Magnet to burst out laughing.

Brooke felt a pair of eyes staring at her, and turned to find a shock of blonde hair, Zigzag. "You're here because you're an undercover agent from the government," he said suddenly. Brooke widens her eyes in confusion and stares at him funny.

"Don't listen to him, I'm pretty sure on his file it says he suffers from acute paranoia," Armpit said, which caused Zigzag to glare at him. Brooke felt this day was just full of glares so far.

"C'mon, we'll show you around," X-Ray said. Brooke followed him out of the room with Squid following behind since he had to watch over the girl. X-Ray showed her the Rec Room which was actually spelt Wreck, and he showed her where they ate, where they got the shovel which was ironically called library, the showers, and the water spigot.

X-Ray then left to go back to the tent leaving Brooke alone with Squid. "Look girl," Squid said, breaking the silence. "I get you think you can take care of yourself, but honestly, I doubt you can, so just leave it to me protecting you and stop acting like a spoiled princess," he said.

"Oh really, and what do you know about me," Brooke sneered softly.

"I know enough just by looking at ya," he said, looking her up and down causing Brooke to lightly blush with a scowl on her face.

"Looks can be deceiving," Brooke said in a matter-of-fact voice. Squid opened his mouth to answer only to be cut off by the dinner bell, they then walked over to the dining hall, but what was unknown to Brooke was how her presence was going to affect this certain boy camp.

**To be continued…**

_AN: Hey, so this fanfic will be a bit more different than the regular only-girl-in-the-prison fanfics. Next chapter shall be up soon. _


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Rattlesnake**

**Squid POV**

We walked into the dining area and I quickly noticed Brooke sliding closer to me, obviously uncomfortable with the cat-calls and the wolf whistles she was getting from the other campers.

I could tell from the first glance I got of her, that she was probably a bit sexist to the male gender, but then I realized she just probably didn't like people at all since I couldn't imagine her being nice to girls either. She seemed too tough to be around girly things like nail polish and dresses, which meant that girls probably despised her for her guy ways.

We walked through the line, Brooke keeping close to us, and looking ahead. She didn't seem to want to make eye-contact with anybody, and for what's it's worth, I didn't blame her.

"Whats up sweet thing…"

"She's smoking!"

"Want to come to my tent tonight…"

The cat calls seem to worse and worse, but Brooke appeared unfazed by it, the only way you could tell it bothered her, was the way she moved closer to X-Ray, and I.

**3****rd**** POV**

Brooke gripped her tray tightly, so tight, that here knuckles turned white. She kept her eyes lowered but ahead. Truthfully, she knew she had to keep close to Squid and X-Ray in case something happened, even though she knew she could take on a couple guys here, she also knew that since she's a girl, there would be more guys than usual that might attack her. Brooke also knew that there were going to be some guys in here for rape, which made her mad, and caused her to let out slow breaths to calm herself down before doing something she regretted, well not regretted just something against camp rules.

She finally blocked the cat-calls and wolf whistles completely out of her head, and went to their table and sat down. The d-tent eyed her, and was going to speak when a boy approached her. He had light brown spiky hair with a black eyebrow piercing; he had tan skin most likely from working in the sun and rattlesnake tattoo going up both of his arms. "Hey sweetheart," he said, plopping down in the seat next to Brooke. "Why you hanging around with these losers when you could hang with us," he grinned.

The d-tent notice Brooke gripping her tray tightly, turning her knuckles white once again. Her eyes weren't filled with fear like they'd expected, in fact, they were filled with rage, fury, and the urge to kill the boy sitting next to her, with her eyebrow slightly twitching to control the urge.

Brooke turned around to face the boy, letting go of her tray when the boy made a wrong move on his half. "Why don't you come to my tent tonight, we can leave right now to be alone," he whispered, leaning in to her ear as he placed a hand on her thigh to give her the hint that talking wasn't what he had in mind.

Brooke almost lost it if it wasn't for X-Ray putting a hand on her shoulder to calm her down, looking deeply into her eyes with a serious expression saying that everything was alright, and Squid who grabbed the tattooed boy and pushed him away from her. "How 'bout you back away from her Rattlesnake," he growled at the boy nicknamed after his vicious tattoos.

"It didn't seem to me that she minded, you never know, maybe she was even likin' it," Rattlesnake growled back.

"You obviously didn't see in her eyes how much she would've loved to snap your neck right then and there," Zigzag stated, stepping in. Rattlesnake seemed to notice he was at a disadvantage when he saw that the whole d-tent was ready to step in and fight for their newbie. Rattlesnake sent a fake smile to them, then frowned angrily and walked away.

**Squid POV**

I kept my eyes on Rattlesnakes back until he was completely gone and sat back down. Everybody watched the interaction, and nobody seemed to want to approach Brooke after that, however I did notice a couple guys from all the tents watching Brooke intensely, some of them licking their lips. For some strange reason, that didn't sit well with me, at the moment I felt like running over to them and punched them some many times, their lips would be too swollen to even stick out their tongue.

I also kept watched of Brooke, I saw I couldn't read any emotions from her face because she put up a emotion mask which covered it all. She ate her food very slowly, almost as if she wasn't hungry but was forcing herself to eat.

"So, Brook right? What'd you get in here for," Armpit asked. Brooke suddenly looked relived that she got the chance to stop eating.

"Nothing really," she said with stoic voice.

"Well you better be ready to share your story when we have that counseling session with Mom, he won't take that crap," I pointed out harshly; her I-don't-care attitude was starting to get on my nerves.

"Well, if he's such a big bad monster as _Mr. Sir_ then you'll find out then," she commented sarcastically, pointing out Mr. Sir acted like he was all that.

Everyone chuckled a bit at her comment, even though I even could tell, her motionlessness was annoying to everyone. Even though we've all haven't seen a girl in a long while, we all remembered girls from school, and they were usually perky, happy, nice, smiley, sunshine attitude, so it was quite strange to finally meet a girl who looked like life grabbed her, chewed her up, and spit her out. She seemed serious yet sarcastic, possibly even sadistic. She seemed angry or mad all the time, and didn't smile often, if not, ever. Brooke was really different, and even though it bugged us with her robotic ways, we were all fascinated with her. The girls at my school at least, were too chirper, and cared about make-up, popularity, fashion, some were snobby while others were kind and most were two-faced, but Brooke didn't seem to give a crap, and the fact that she was just so _real _was really quite strange.

"Just saying, you might want to drop that attitude, even though it goes well for a boy here, you're a girl, and that attitude ain't 'gonna cut it here," I pointed out which caused Brooke to lash her head angrily my way, her eyes boring into mine, and I try everything in my power to not flinch.

"What's that suppose to mean," she growled.

"I mean, the way you're acting is 'gonna get you in deep trouble," I growled back.

"So what, you want me to act like a happy-go-lucky kind of girl, act like the world is made out of sunshine and rainbows when its actually made of blood, sex, money, and power? You want me to act like I'm just chipper and happy all the time, huh?" she pointed out. "Well sorry, as much as it will get me in trouble, this is just who I am, and I won't change, wont throw away everything I know and turn to ignorance. Here," she growled, pushing her tray our way. "I'm not hungry, knock yourselves out." Brooke then left without another word.

I had to admit, she was right, everything she said was right, but I knew that something was going to happen with the way she acts, and it'll be her fault for not changing her ways just for a little while, even if it meant acting two faced.

**Brooke POV**

I stormed my way into my tent, feeling my anger flooding over me. Once I got inside I notice Zero sitting on his cot, and looking up at the ceiling.

"Zero, what are you doing here, shouldn't you be eating?" I asked, making my voice softer.

"I eat quickly, left right after Rattlesnake left," he said.

"Hm," I hummed.

I turned to my bed, and pulled on blue-green plaid shorts, and a tank top, slipping into bed, having my back face Zero.

"We don't need to go to bed for a while, curfew isn't for another couple hours," Zero said.

"I know, but I'm really tired, and need all the sleep I can get," I said back. Zero stayed quiet after that, probably letting me sleep, and I quickly drifted off to sleep only to be greeted by a nightmare.

_The soda laid into my hand, my body swishing side to side from the dizziness. I knew I didn't take any drugs; I would never, so someone must've drugged my drink when I turned around. I sluggishly walked up the stairs, and went into an empty bedroom. Finally, the drug took its full effect, and I plopped down onto the bed, my soda can falling out of my hand, and landing on the floor. I lay on my back and watched the can fall as the world spinned, and watched as a man opened the door. A tan, bulky man wearing a jock jacket entered. Panic filled me, and I tried my hardest to scream, but no sound came from my mouth. "Shh," the man said, putting a hand over my mouth. "As long as you don't struggle, this shouldn't hurt too badly," he said. I felt his hands grip the button on my pants, "No," I squeaked out, "Stop," I tried to say loudly but it barely came out any louder than a whisper._

I jumped up from my bed, screaming. All of d-tent rush straight over to me, worried written on their faces.

"What's wrong chica, you alright," Magnet asked, putting a hand on my hand, causing me to jerk away in fear.

"I'm fine," I snapped, but I couldn't stop shaking, the dream was a memory, a reminder what happened that ended me up here.

**To be continued…**

_So little intake on her past, I'm pretty sure you all guess already how/why she's ended up her, but you'll find out the truth soon enough._


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**Brooke POV**

After the outburst I had last night due to my night terrors, I tried to avoid the boys burning gaze as much as possible. I could tell Hector and Magnet looking at me with a slightly worried expression, while Squid and Zigzag were observing me, trying to figure me out. However Armpit, and X-ray just simply watched me.

I changed as fast as possible so that no one could sneak a look at me, and sighed internally. Today would be my first day digging, but it wasn't the hard labor I was worried about, it's when I am going to left alone to work all day with a bunch of guys around me. Oh how I wished to be completely alone, I started hating people about a very long time ago, and now I cant seem to get away from them.

I while walking to get our shovels, I stuck close to Zero, I was trying to use his nickname so that nobody would know I know his real name, questions would come up, and it would only be a nuisance. I rose a brow with an unimpressed expression on my face at X-ray when I saw his shove at another guy, grabbing his shovel out of the guys hand. Squid must have noticed my expression, because he sauntered over to me to explain. "That's X-ray's shovel, it's smaller than the rest of them, so he digs a smaller hole," he explained.

I glanced at him to show I understood, but that was it.

We started to dig, and I noticed the d-tent watching me with amused looks, they must've thought I hadn't worked a day in my life, so saying they were a little surprised at hour easily I started my hole, and dug it, was an understatement. The boys started to get into conversations, talking about random from TV shows, to stupid things they've done. Honestly, I ignored them most of the time, only ever acknowledging them every so often when they asked me a question which I always replied with a short answer or no comment. Finally, they gave up on trying to include me in on their convo and continued talking to each other.

Finally, the water truck came around along with lunch, I was happy about the water, but the second I noticed how much food I received, my stomach dropped. Normally to the others, it wasn't enough, but to me, it was too much. I haven't eaten much since the… party… and so this seemed like too much for me to handle.

I noticed Hector sitting on the side of his hole, while he ate alone. The rest of the d-tent was currently around Armpit's hole, talking and munching on their food. I then got up and joined Zero, who looked at me with some sort of shock. I didn't speak at all, just silently offered my sandwich to him. Hector looked at me with a confused look but I only simply replied, "not hungry," with a grunt. Zero nodded very small like and took my sandwich which he hungrily devoured within seconds. I slowly bit into my apple, while Zero finished off my sandwich and started at his own sandwich and apple.

Once he was done, I went back to my own hole with my half eaten apple, and continued to dig.

**To be continued…**

_Sorry, short chapter! I update the rest very very soon._


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**3****rd**** POV**

After a while of digging, Brooke finally finished her hole, a lot quicker than usual newbie's, however, Brooke decided this would be only time she got to be alone, and acted like her hole was unfinished. She sat down on the edge of the hole, looking at the sky. She fluttered her eyes shut when a soft whisper of a breeze flowed by her, she sighed at the quietness; just the way she liked it.

The sky was no longer the sharp blue it was before, now it was smeared with pink and dashes of orange. Brooke never admitted this, but she always like the sunset, it was calming in a strange way. What she liked the most, was when there was the rare times, when you see a sliver of gray trying to come out of the orange. It was cheesy, but she felt like her life was like that, like she was the gray in the sunset, trying to fit in with the orange and pink, but just always end up the odd one in the bunch.

A loud, sharp hiss pulled Brooke out of her thoughts, and her eyes turned to the yellow-spotted lizard a couple feet away. The bluish haired girl let out the faintest of smiles, as she looked upon the lizard. She had always been good with animals, even the most deadliest she's been able to tame with a single touch; the lizard was just the same.

Brooke laid her hand out, looking away from the lizard to show trust. She could feel the creature that supposedly was a killer, plop its body in her hand. She moved her hand closer to herself, and used her other hand to softly trail her index finger from its nose to the top of its head and back down.

She finally decided she had been out long enough and should be heading back the camp filled with the loud, annoying, people. The girl with the pale bluish black hair laid the now tame lizard down, got up, brushed her clothes off, grabbed her shovel, and went back to the place that she now dreaded the most. When she got to the camp, she put the shovel into the library, and went to her tent, knowing that dinner wouldn't for a little while.

"There ya are, we thought you might've fell in an hole and couldn't get out or somethin'" Squid stated with his thick southern accent.

Brooke gave him a look that said she acknowledge that he spoke, but didn't answer, instead she just went straight to her cot, and plopped down, her eyes trained on an unknown object with a faraway look in her eyes.

"Did you get some blisters," Magnet asked.

Brooke looked his way, but didn't answer him; she wasn't going to cry about some blisters on her hands, she had been through a lot worse, and besides, Magnet seemed to accept her silence as a yes, Squid on the other hand, was fuming from the fact that she once again didn't answer them.

"Hey, he asked ya a question," Squid stated, anger growing by the seconds that passed.

"I'm not qualified to answer," Brooke simply stated, shrugging her arms, completely unfazed by Squid's rock-hard expression.

"You need to stop acting like you're better than the rest of us, because believe it or not, you're not, so stop acting all high and mighty," Squid growled.

"Squid's right man," Armpit stepped in. "We've tried to be nice, but all you do is keep your mouth shut."

"Oh really? You think you know me, don't ya? Well guess what _sweetheart_, you don't. I don't have to talk to you, answer to you; I don't have to even be your friend for crying out loud. So stop acting like we're buddy-buddy, we don't have to be," Brooke snapped, her voice low the entire time making it sound deadly. She had enough of their nagging.

"You're right; we don't have to be friends. Thing is Brooke, we're trying to be your friend, even though we don't have to, we are trying to, but you're making sure damn hard to keep it from happening," X-ray spoke up.

Brooke simply scowled at them but looked away. _Nobody's ever wanted to be my friend before, aside from Lily… Wait what are you thinking Brooke, they're men, all they want to do is get their way with you, _Brook thought to herself.

The sound of the dinner bell rang, taking the girl out of her thoughts. She quickly gathered herself up, and made sure her face had a mask on it. She stalked her way out of the tent, ignoring the rest of her tent mates, what she didn't notice however, was that Squid was looking at her, with zero anger in his eyes, he was just simply observing, her.

He finally noticed her eyes for once, a beautiful silver color that looked like her eyes were actually made out of metal. Her hair was also unique; it was a very pale bluish black color. Her face, like always, held a stoic expression, and the way she walked held confidence, but at her sides, her hands were clutching tightly making her knuckles go white. Brooke then finally noticed Squids gaze and looked at him through the corner of her eye. She simply raised an eyebrow at him which didn't go unnoticed by Squid who scowled at her, covering the bottom half of his face with his hand to cover up the blush that grew on his cheeks. Brooke looked away, not thinking anything of it.

Once again, when the group entered the cafeteria, Brooke was greeted with hungry eyes, and men licking their lips at the sight of her body. This time however, Brooke didn't move closer to anybody, she decided on trying to handle it herself, and to distance herself as much as possible from the d-tent boys.

Rattlesnake though, he was the worst. The gaze he burned at Brooke made her want to jump and beat him to a pulp. She tried to force herself to eat fast, but couldn't do it, she wasn't that hungry. Her mind then wandered away.

**Flashblack**

_Brooke stood in front of the house that was now decorated with flames. Tears spilled from her eyes as only nine year-old Brooke watched her home burn to nothing but ashes. __**Why… why me? What did my parents do to receive such a terrible fate… what did I do to deserve this? **__Brooke asked herself. The screams of her parents died long ago, but she wished she had been among those screams, she wished she would be right where mama and papa was, but instead, she let fear and her parents pleads get to her heart, and ran out of the house before it got any worse._

_ The distant sound of a siren rang, but Brooke didn't move a muscle, didn't blink an eye, and didn't even show a single emotion. Everything she ever knew, everything she loved, everything that was her world, was now being burned to the ground, and she couldn't stop it, she couldn't save her parents, she couldn't do anything. A fireman grabbed the metallic eyed girl which brought her out of her state, she screamed and cried for him to let her go, but even she knew deep down, there was nothing left to run to. _

**3****rd**** POV**

"-ooke, Brooke!" a voice snapped, causing Brooke to jerk out of her flashback and look at Magnet. He had been calling her for a while know, but Brooke was stuck in the horrible hallucination. The girl could feel the warm water on her cheeks, and quickly wiped away the tears. She stood up, ignoring the looks and the concerned questions of the d-tent boys, and left the cafeteria, leaving behind her tray for them to scavenge off of.

Her pace quickened as she walked to the tent. She plopped onto her cot, and pulled her covers up to her chin, feeling more tears slip from her eyes. She felt like slapping herself, like cutting her leg, doing something to make the pain take away the sadness that had now consumed her.

Hector was the very first to go to Brooke, he came up to her and laid a hand on her arm while her back still faced him. "It's alright Brooke, just cry; the others don't know how to take care of a crying girl so I doubt they'll in here soon. Just let it out," he said. Brooke felt her body shudder, and she tried to control herself from crying anymore, she didn't want to be weak anymore.

**To be continued…**

_I updated yay! I would also like to thank __coldburrito97__ and __Billie Angeles__ for reviewing!_


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**Brooke POV**

I let out a loud breath after waking up, once more my dreams were filled with terrors I preferred not to talk about. My pillow was still slightly damp from my endless crying last night, I'm pretty sure I became dehydrated and passed out for I do not remember closing my eyes.

I could hear the shuffling of feet, and I knew it was time to get up, but I didn't have the courage in me to lift my feet and start the day. I was afraid that the d-tent boys were going to bring up what happened last night, and that was something I wanted only myself to know. I mean, what would I be if I didn't have my past, as much as my past hurt, it turned me into who I really am, and I never wanted to change that, but that still didn't mean what happened was right, what did I do to deserve what happened to me? Maybe I was just born to be chewed up and spit out by life.

I took in another deep breath, closing my eyes and while taking in the coolness I felt around me. I sat up and stretched my spine, keeping my eyes away from the boys as I quickly switched shirts for I was still in my shirt from the work day before. I fell asleep before I would change, but to me, it didn't really matter.

I look out from the corner of my eye to see the guys doing their own thing, whether it was still trying to get up, trying to get someone to wake up, or finishing up to go leave. But then, I noticed Hector. Like always he's already done, and is minding his own business. He was always a sweet kid, and I hated the way people treated him just because he didn't talk to him. They would call him mute, sometimes deaf, and would call him stupid just because he didn't speak to him, it always had ticked me off, and it's one of the reasons I hate this god forsaken 'camp.'

**Squid POV**

Last night before we came back to the tent we all decided not to speak a word about what happened last night around Brooke. We were all confused why she just stared out in space, that was until we saw small silent tears streak her face, and with the way she acted after she noticed we caught her in the act, we decided it would be best not to piss her off more than we probably already have. As much as I hated not talking to her about it, I knew deep done it was for the best. I mean hey, if she didn't want to talk about it, we don't care; we're just trying to get on her good side.

It was strange to all of us, but, we've never felt like being kind, or sympathetic, or trying to be a friend to anyone here, but she was just… so… different. I couldn't explain it, maybe it was just the fact that we all understand what she's going through in some way.

**3****rd**** POV**

Brooke twisted her hair real quick into a bun, and strutted out of the tent. She then quickly found Hect-Zero in the crowd of juvenile boys, and stood right next to him trying to act indifferent. Last thing she need was boys spreading rumors like old lady's saying who knows what.

And then, like always, came the group of d-tent boys, always together, and always cruelly teasing each other or cracking jokes. Brooke suppressed an eye roll as she saw how the boys acted joyful even when it was this early in the morning.

Everyone grabbed their shovels and headed out to go dig, all while Brooke ignored the stares she was receiving from the other campers, especially the ones she received from Rattlesnake, and the boy next to him that had a red streak in his hair. She didn't remember seeing him before, but from the looks of it, it seemed as if he wanted her just as much as Rattlesnake did, and that was saying a lot.

Brooke gripped her shovels handle even harder than before turning her knuckles white. She couldn't stand the leers she was getting, and for once, she rather have been at school for at least there she was only noticed as garbage which right now was better than being looked at like starving wolves staring at a piece of meat.

The metal-eyed girl started to dig, she couldn't help but think back to yesterday when she held that so-called venomous lizard. He was simply harmless, just misunderstood because his natural animal-like reactions, and as cheesy as it sounds, Brooke felt like she was that yellow spotted lizard. All humans either hate her or are afraid of her just because she's done bad things to them due to her natural instincts, and they've either ran away from her, or they shot her down like she was nothing but a tin can.

Brooke's mind started to wonder, and she sort of spaced out while she dug that hole in the heated desert.

"Hey, Brooke," Magnet called.

Brooke felt slightly irritated that Magnet ruined her daydream, but she shoved her mask on so he wouldn't see it. "What Magnet," she said back, still working without so much as a glance his way.

"Um, well… Don't that it the bad way, but we're all surprised how easily you are handling digging that hole, I mean, newbie's tend to have such a hard time for at least the next three days that they are usually the last one out here and are here for more hours." He stated.

"I'm not someone who hasn't been exploited to hard labor, I've had my fair share," she says shortly, secretly hoping he didn't ask more, but she knew Magnet well enough to know that that answer wouldn't satisfy him.

"Oh really, what kind of hard labor? What did you do," he asked, suddenly intrigued, and Brooke could see he wasn't the only one. Everyone else from d-tent, besides Hector who already knew some of it, and some member of different tents were listening in on the conversation.

"That's what you live for when you're living on the streets," Brooke said, hoping that that was a good enough answer to get him to shut up.

"… You lived on the streets," Magnet asked in a soft but not quiet voice.

Brooke didn't look up from her shovel, she could practically feel the pity washing her way, and she hated it. "Isn't that just what I just said!" she snapped at him, hating talking about the touchy subject. The pale bluish-black haired girl instantly regretted telling him now, because now they knew something about her, something to use against her, something they now knew hit a button with her, and hated it, she was so filled with anger that she wasn't sure if she could feel anything else anymore.

The day passed on, and the boys slowly left to the point it was just Brooke again. She sat on the ledge of the hole, kicking her feet as she once again watched the sunset, keeping a close eye out for that special gray streak that never got acknowledged. She tipped her head back, closing her eyes with a faint smile on her lips that grew bigger as she felt the tiniest of breezes.

She then heard shuffling and slightly opened one of her eyes out to see a yellow spotted lizard about a meter away. Brooke again shut her eyes and laid out her hand. "Hey there fella, I'm going to hurt you, want to sit together and watch the sunset," she asked, even though she knew the lizard didn't understand her, but as if he did understand her, she felt a small body plop itself onto her hand. She ever so carefully, pulled her hand back into her lap lightly trailing her index finger on the lizards back. To others, it would be unreal to be holding this 'aggressive' creature, but even if the lizard were to bite her and kill her, she wouldn't care because she knew it was just natural, nature can be pretty but it's mostly cruel and dark, and she knew it was in an animal's nature to kill the creature that looks to be threatening.

"I didn't know you were so good with animals," a sudden voice came out, causing Brooke to gasp, and jump as she lost her composure. The lizard in her hand jerked up at her sudden movements, and crawled down her thigh only to perch itself on her knee.

Brook moved slightly to look back the voice, and there was no other than Magnet.

**To be continued…**

_Here is, yet again, another update. I want to thank everyone who follow/favorite this story and all those who have reviewed! Sorry about how much I switched in-between POV's I just wanted to show what they were thinking and as always, do the 3__rd__ person POV._


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Fellow Animal Lover **

**Magnet POV**

We all noticed Brooke had been staying out in the lake even though she was finished with her hole. None of us were sure what she did, but we got worried that she was out longer than usual so I got sent out to go find her.

I decided to check her hole first, and I was right, there she sat on the edge of her hole, looking out at the sunset, and there in her hand, was none other than a yellow-spotted lizard who looked like it was nuzzling her hand while it fell asleep. I felt my jaw drop at the scene, this girl just got weirder and weirder every time we talk or even were near each other.

I could tell she was in her happy zone for she had a crooked, goofy smile while she watched the sunset, letting out happy sighs. She also would glance down at the lizard in her hand and smile even wider at the small creature; it was almost like she knew the lizard wouldn't harm her.

I almost felt content to not disrupt her peace time, but I felt something weird in my chest at I realize she might like animals just as much as me. "I didn't know you were good with animals," I spoke up.

The girl with the metal eyes jumped up with a gasp at the shock of my presence. The lizard hissed at me like it was protecting Brooke before it crawled down her thigh to her knee to stare at me. "You shouldn't sneak up on people," Brooke sneered, but I realized the only reason why she was angry was because I managed to sneak up on her.

I instantly put my hands in the air as a sign of surrender. "Sorry, just wanted to see what you were up to everyday chica when you don't come back after finishing your hole," I said, before plopping myself right next to her.

"I just wanted to alone time, but I guess today I won't be getting any huh," she growled, her jaw locking.

"Nope chica," I answer, deciding to ignore her sharp comment.

We sat in a comfortable silence after that, Brooke with a stoic mask on her face, I guessed Brooke wasn't sure what to say, which was the first, and I didn't know what kind of form of conversation to bring up. It was obvious she hated to talk about anything in her past, defiantly including what she did to get her, and I just wasn't sure what she had good memories of, and then I remembered the lizard.

"Do you like animals," I asked all the sudden.

There was a pause before Brooke answered, "yeah." I looked over at her to see a ghost of a smile on her lips as she stared down at the lizard sleeping on her knee with the soft look in her eyes. I felt my jaw drop lightly but quickly covered it up. I never seen her look at something in such a soft way, considering every time she looked at someone she was either emotionless or she sent them a glare.

"I got put here because of animals," I said quietly, but just enough for her to hear.

She snapped her head my way, eyes a bit wide like she never expected me to say that, she quickly covered her slip up with her mask once again. "What happened?" she asked in her creepy stoic voice that sent chills down my spine every time.

"I stole this puppy, I mean c'mon man, they wanted a thousand dollars for this one puppy, and they locked them up in the cages!" I exclaimed angrily with my heavy Mexican accent.

"I never liked that they did that, or the fact that in those _shelters _they kill the dogs if they haven't been bought after a period of a time," she growled, trying to look indifferent but I knew it affected her because he hand twitched slightly with anger.

"Right!" I said, excited someone else felt the same way. Brooke sent me a small look and even though she probably thought I didn't catch it, I did. The look was soft, like she understood me and could relate. I knew at that moment, we had just created a small bond between us.

**Brooke POV**

After Magnet and I talked, we got up to go back to the d-tent, without him looking, I placed the lizard from before in my pocket silently sending an apology to him for treating him like this. I wasn't sure what was wrong with me, but after Magnet and I's talk, I felt… sort of _softer _towards him. I tried to go back to glaring at him or to at least look stoic at him, but every time I looked in his direction I felt my body relax.

_What are you thinking Brooke?! Remember, Magnet is a boy; all he's going to do is hurt you like Michael hurt you. Do you want that again? _A voice screamed in my head and I realized that it was completely right; Magnet could've lied to me too by noticing my kind side towards animals and could've made that whole story up. But then I remembered his enthusiasm at us sharing something in common, and I knew he just had to be a fellow animal lover.

We walked into the tent, the rest of the boys were laughing and looking like they were about to loved when they noticed us walk up.

"Hey, where were you guys," X-ray asked.

"Just talking," Magnet answered, sending a cheeky smile my way. I felt my lip twitch with the feeling at smiling back him but I suppressed it easily.

I rolled eyes with a scoff and headed towards my cot, and laid on the mattress. I didn't look over at the guys, but I could hear them whispering amongst themselves before they left. I grabbed soft placed the lizard out of my pocket, hoping he wasn't mad, but he looked like her didn't care, laying down on the side that face opposite of Hector who was still in the room, and curled against my side, that's just when the flashback happened.

**Flashback**

_Brooke sat on a bed in the hospital with a wrapped around her shoulders. She was only nine yet she had gone through the worst possible thing for a child as young as here. She could hear the distant sound of talking and recognized a familiar voice. _

_ The door then swung open and then a beloved relative of Brooke came through, her Uncle Chris. "Brookie-bear," he said before kneeling before Brooke, grabbing her hands there were lying in her lap. "Hey sweetie, don't cry," he said, cupping her face with one of his hands. Brooke wiped her tears, not even realizing she had been crying. _

_ "Uncle Chris, where am I 'gonna go, who am I going to stay with," she asked, her body shaking._

_ "You'll come with me, don't worry, I would never leave you with someone else in the family," he said comfortably. They both knew the government would never leave Brooke with anyone else in the family besides Chris. "Don't worry; I'll always take care of you."_

**Brooke POV**

"Magnet getting to you," Hector stated, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"No, I won't let him," I said in response.

"You don't have to always be distant with them Brooke, you know that right?" he asked.

"You're wrong, I have to be, they'll only betray me, and I refuse to open up to any one of them," I answered.

"Really, because it looks like to me that you just might be softening up to Magnet, and possibly even Squid despite you two's constant fallouts." Hector answered, giving me a smirk that said he knew he was right.

"It's just that, Magnet likes animals, maybe just as much as me, and Squid, well I'm not sure about him, but, I feel strange with him, so far he's the only guy that talks back to me despite my scariness and my emotionless behavior." I answered, not sure what to think.

Before Hector could answer a loud bell went off, stating that it was dinner time. We looked at each other and got up and out of the tent, but not before I whispered to the yellow-spotted lizard that I was to be going and to stay here, even though he doesn't speak English, I knew he understood me for he tipped his head as if to nod. I walked into the dining hall noticing the loud voice of Mr. Sir yelling at one of the fellow campers. I ignored him and went ahead to get my dinner, even though the last thing I felt doing was eating. I rather go back to the tent and hang out with my little lizard buddy that I was deciding on naming.

I sat down at the usual table, and once I do, Magnet moves right next to me with our shoulders, arms and thighs touching while Squid comes down at my other side, just as close as Magnet. I shifted, uncomfortable with their closeness and rubbed my calves together to try and toughen it up.

"Well aren't you too close," I grumbled sarcastically. Both boys just shrugged their shoulders, brushing me off. The other guys gave us a strange look like they didn't know what was going on.

That night, I had managed to finish dinner, which was the first, and for once, I manage to stay with them the whole time instead of leaving early like I always did before. Squid and Magnet stuck to my side like glue the whole time, and I notice they sent glares towards all the other guys who sent wolf whistles and cat calls my way, in fact, Squid was basically strangling Rattlesnake with his eyes, who would not stop looking at me while biting his lip. At first I would grip my tray to keep from punching Rattlesnake or doing other hurtful things, but for some reason, I let Squid take control of it.

And I knew I was softening up with the d-tent boys.

**To be continued…**

_Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, and favorite/followed! Sorry if Brooke's past may be confusing, it will be cleared up in later chapters. _


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Soft On the Inside, Metal Shell On the Outside**

**Brooke POV**

The loud sound drew me up from my horror filled slumber. I sat up, running my hands through my hair. I knew I was softening up to the d-tent boys, so I just had to find a way to push away from them. I knew my heart couldn't stand anymore heartbreak, and I knew being friends with them will only end up with a knife in my back.

I quickly rubbed the head of my new lizard friend who I was still trying to decide on what to name him. I got up, twirling my hair into a bun. I pulled on a white tee, tying the arms of my orange jumpsuit around my waist, and lastly pulled on my sneakers. "Mornin' Brooke," Magnet greeted with a lazy grin. I merely scoffed and brushed him off, leaving the dark tent sadly noticing the crushed look that appeared in his face which caused my chest to heave. I tried to push away the weight I felt on my chest, but it lingered there.

**Squid POV**

I looked out of the corner of my eye at Magnet, his face looked crushed for a second before disappearing but I knew he could feel the pain still, I had felt it too. Over and over again whenever I thought I was getting somewhere with Brooke only for her to push away from me, I could tell she knew she was starting to soften up to both Magnet and I. I have no idea what Magnet had done/say for her to quickly be kind to him, but I felt this burning in the pit of my stomach every time I thought about it. Shaking my head, I finished getting ready, coming out of the tent only to catch myself looking for a certain metal eyed girl. _Why do you keep thinking about her, you're starting to like her aren't you, _my thoughts taunted.

I shook my head again, lowering it to the ground to erase the thoughts that flew in my mind, but the second I look up, my eyes immediately caught onto Brookes. She stared back at me, her gaze less hard that it's usually is, when she notices that were staring at each other instead of glaring like we always do, she sends a sharp dagger my way before looking somewhere else, and I swore I saw a light blush grace her cheeks. _I don't like her, she just gets on my nerve, that's all, _I tried to convince myself. _The only reason you get angry towards her is because she refuses for you to take care of her when you know you so desperately want to because you know that's the only possible way for the two of you to get close to each other, _my thoughts reasoned. I shook my head for the millionth time this morning and went to go stand by d-tent.

"Alright boys… and er- girl, time to get to digging," Mr. Sir yelled, opening the 'library.' All of us grab our shovels and hike out for another day of blisters accompanied with the heat of the sun.

I quickly glanced at the pale bluish haired girl, trying to prove to myself that I didn't feel anything towards her, but I was proved wrong when I felt my stomach do summersaults; my god, she was turning me into some school girl with her first crush. I watched her as we walked, but then I noticed I wasn't the only one, Rattlesnake was staring intently at her, biting his bottom lip as he stared at her backside, and with him, was Flare, a guy with a red streak through his hair and was nicknamed after his quick flare-like temper. He stood next to Rattlesnake, like always since he was basically Rattlesnake's lackey, and he too stared at her backside, his hands twitching slightly at his sides as he absently licked his lips.

My anger then sparked inside of me, and before I knew what I was doing, went by Brooke's side, slipping an arm around her shoulders. Brooke stiffened for a moment then went back to her straight posture when she saw my face, she raised an eyebrow, questioning my actions but I only sent a large grin her way. And before she could shove my arm off of me, I sent a quick glare behind me at Flare and Rattlesnake, showing them that she was under my protecting, and I removed my arm from her shoulders.

Brooke growled and grabbed my front of my shirt, making me forget all about the two partners in crime, leaning near my ear to whisper, "don't ever do that again," she stated, lightly pushing me away.

"Oh c'mon, just being friendly sweetheart," I answered playfully, trying to play it off. Brooke simply scowled and rolled her eyes before going off to go dig her hole.

**Brooke POV**

I didn't know what came over me when Squid wrapped an arm around my shoulders, but I could feel my body relax, like I he would never hurt me or attack me. But I came right back to my senses when he grinned at me with that annoying cheeky grin. He threw his arm off my shoulder but not before looking back behind him. I quickly snapped at him which had no effect on him, at least not like before where we would end up in an all out brawl, and left to go dig my hole. _Should I be harder on them, am I getting to soft? I snapped at Squid and all he did was act playful, what is wrong with me, what is going on? Why isn't he getting mad at me, _my thoughts freaked. I was totally stumped at the moment but decided on putting in the back of mind and to continue digging.

Time passed extremely slowly, it was more heated today, and I felt like sight start to blur ever so slowly. I tried to drink water to fix it, but it only made me feel sick with a tummy full of water and barely any food while working in the blistering. I knew I had been through much worse, but today I couldn't stand it. My vision blurred more and more, and by the time Mom and Mr. Sir came by with lunch, my knees wobbles, my vision was filled with red dots, and I collapsed in my hole. My chest heaved with deep breaths and I pressed a palm against my forehead, reminiscing in the coolness of my palms against my heated forehead.

"Brooke," a voice questioned. I slowly lifted my head, my mind hazy. I find a Hector looking down upon me from the top of the hole. "Are you okay, you don't look so good," he stated, a slight frown coming upon his lips and a concern look piercing his eyes.

"I-I'm f-fine," I slurred, finding Hector now blurred slightly.

"Are you sure, have you been sleeping?" he questioned, pressing the subject.

"Please Zero, I'm alright, go get some lunch, I'll be right behind, just let me rest for a second," I stated, feeling sleepiness starting to consume me. I vaguely notice Hector nod hesitantly, and leave my sight, only just before I felt my conscience slip from me, and I was surrounded in darkness.

**3****rd**** POV**

Hector got his lunch as fast as he could and came back to Brooke's hole only to find her slumped over, her eyes closed with blood dripping out of her nose. He jumped into the hole pressing a hand to chest to see she was barely breathing and that was when he started to panic. "Mr. Sir, someone, we need help!" Hector yelled getting out of her hole.

"Zero, you can speak?" Armpit asked.

"What else can you do Zero," X-ray then asked.

"What's going on here," Mr. Sir growled, walking up to the group, while the rest of the d-tent walked up behind him.

"Something's wrong with Brooke, she's barely breathing and her nose is bleeding," Hector yelled, not caring that he was talking to them for the first time.

That was all everyone needed to hear before running to her hole, Mom coming up behind them as well. They found Brooke just like how Hector found her, blooding dripping from her nostrils, her body crumple, and her breathing so weak you could barely see her chest more. "I'll call the ambulance, she needs to see a hospital as soon as possible, for now we need to keep her breathing," Mom instructed, with the little medical training he knew. Squid was instantly by her side, pulling her body up and out of the hole. He carried her bridal style over to tents, ignoring the confused stares of the other campers. He sat her down on his cot, pulling her body to his so that she lay in between his legs, her back against his chest and her face pressed against his neck. "C'mon Brooke, we were just getting used to each other, you can't go yet. We haven't even got to the point where we aren't screaming at each other the whole time," Squid growled which turned into a slight chuckle at remembering their many brawls through a short amount of time. He slightly shook her in hopes she would lift her eyelids and show the pretty metal eyes of hers.

**To be continued…**

_A/N: Thank you for reviewing and favorite/following! _


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Campsick?**

**Brooke POV**

Flashes appeared before my eyes on what was happening around me, I saw a person flashing a light in my eyes, then I saw people running down a white hallway, after that, I was once more surrounded in darkness.

_"Hello?" Brooke questioned, looking around her but all she saw was white, white everything. The metal eyed girl looked down at her body and ran her hands over the purple hospital gown. "Where am I," she questioned softly out loud._

_ "You like this don't yeah," a familiar male voice grunted followed by a few pants. "Oh yeah, oh yeah babe, you're so hot," it continued huskily. Brooke finally recognized the voice and fell to her knees, silent tears starting to spill over her cheeks. She frantically looked her around her to find the body that matched the voice, only to once again be greeted with pure white. _

_ Then, she heard the cries that haunt her almost every night. "Brooke, go, we'll be fine, you need to get out of here," her mother's voice screamed. _

_ "No mama, I want to with the both of you," Brooke's younger voice cried back._

_ "Brooke, sweetie, you need to go now, please, live for us!" her father begged. Brooke remembered that moment, she remembered she had been torn between staying with her parents who were trapped and surrounded by flames or going to go live on just like they had wished. She finally decided on what they had wished on and she ran as quickly as her weak body could out of the burning house, only to faintly hear on her way out, "We love you Brooke, so much," her parents said in unison._

I let out a large breath of air and sat up. I was no longer in the hole, in fact; I was no longer in camp. I was sitting in a hospital bed, wearing a purple hospital gown, I slid my hands down my gown, confusion waving over me just like it had in my dream.

"You're awake," a familiar kind voice stated. I turned my head to find the worried face of my long time friend Ian. He looked miserable, his very dark brown hair was messy, his eyes looked slightly red, his cheeks a bit flushed, and wry smile placed in his lips. That is when I noticed he was holding my hand in an intimate way, with our fingers interlocked.

"What happened," I asked.

"Your body started to give out, if that friend of yours hadn't found you as soon as he had, if he had been just five minutes later, they doctors said you would've been dead," he explained. "They say that you had had little food in your system and it looked like it had been that way for a long while now, and with the heat combined with only water keeping you going, and with the signs you've barely have had any sleep, your body's system was having an extremely hard time with keeping going," Ian continued, using his free hand to run through his hair.

I squeezed his hand in comfort, which was strange for in a situation like this, it should be the other way around. "Get some sleep alright," Ian said, pressing kiss to the top of my hand. I looked down at my lap, after the dream I just had, sleeping was the last thing I wanted to do.

**Squid POV**

They took Brooke off in the ambulance immediately, leaving the rest of the camp in the dust. We had to continue on digging our holes, and to be truthful, I had never dug a hole so fast in my life. Emotions grabbed a strong hold on my body and I was lashing it out on digging my hole. I felt scared, and worried, but most of all, I felt angry; I didn't know why I felt angry, I guess it was because of what the medic said about her body driving off. How her body was giving out due to lack of sleep, lack of food, and the suns heat, I guess I just felt angry about not noticing the signs, not helping her because I was too busy dealing with my feelings or fighting with her.

After my hole was done I stomped my way over to the tent, threw my hat at my cot and angrily ran my fingers through my hair while sitting down on my cot. I heard the tent flap move and looked up to find the d-ten walking in, all with gloomy faces.

**Brooke POV**

After taking a nap that had only lasted half an hour due to nightmares, I laid in the hospital bed. The nurse walked in and I decided to ask where Ian had gone. "Excuse me, but could you tell me where my friend left to," I asked with my stoic mask in place.

"Oh, well he wasn't looking good so I sent him home rest, wouldn't want his handsome face messed up over one girl who will be completely fine," the nurse said cheerfully, like nothing she had just said was offensive.

"Well then _bitch_, you must be cold hearted if you don't understand why a guy whose best friend _in the entire world _is in the hospital, and is worried for her," I growled, snapping at the girl.

The nurse looked taken back and hurried to get out of the room. One thing that really ticked me off was when girls dismissed me just because my best friend was good looking. I rolled my eyes and slumped into the hospital bed causing my purple gown to rise up underneath the sheets. My muscles were itching to move around, to get out of the bed, but after dealing with that nurse and my grumpiness from the lack of sleep, I didn't feel like being lectured by a doctor or a another nurse for leaving my bed or room.

Luckily, Ian must've brought my cell phone for it was laying on the tale next to me. I reached over and grabbed the device, taking the ear phones that were plugged in and blasting music in my ears, sighing at the luxury of listening to music. I actually missed listening to the music, I just didn't think about it much, but now that I had it back, I felt as if I was holding the most precious jewel in my hand.

**3****rd**** POV**

Hours passed slowly for the metal eyed girl, the only thing that kept her entertained was her cell phone and nothingness. Ian had texted her saying he would be back later that day for his parents were forcing him to go to school for the rest of the day. The nurse from before was smart enough to send in other nurses to check up on Brooke, and the doctor tried to talking to the light bluish black haired girl but he was simply ignored just because Brooke felt annoyed at the fact that she had to stay in the hospital for something she thought wasn't a big deal.

In fact, a couple time during the day she felt her mind wander back to Camp Greenlake. She missed her lizard buddy which she hoped would be able to stay out of sight until she came back, or at least be able to leave the camp without Mr. Sir noticing and trying to shoot the poor thing. She also though about Magnet, how the two slightly bonded over their love for animals, and who made her become softer around, and she thought of Squid, who she had fought with on quite a few occasions, and who she might have just might have the tiniest feelings for, but it's not like the metal eyed girl would ever admit it. She thought about Hector who she had known from the past and who was a very good a friend of hers, like a brother, and the only person she would allow herself to cry in front of. She also thought of Zigzag, Armpit, and X-ray, who she didn't know very well despite the fact that X-ray leads the group and they were all trying to be her friend, something Brooke hadn't had in a long time.

**To be continued…**

_A/N: Sorry for the short chapter, I'll be updating another one soon to make up for this one! Thank you for reviews and following/favoriting!:D_


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: You Knew That Subject Hurts**

**3****rd**** POV**

Brooke grabbed an extra hospital gown and left to go shower. She hadn't showered once when she was at camp, and while most girls would shudder in disgust, Brooke had gotten used to it when she had spent her time on the streets. She also wasn't going to shower in front of the boys, despite a special stall installed for her; she had a bad feeling about the showering with a camp filled with boys. Brooke walked into a shower room and turned on the water, letting it run to heat up. She stripped off her purple hospital gown and walked into the water, letting the heat calm her goose bumps.

Ian had visited her as much as he possibly could. And even thought Brooke had enjoyed his company for he was her best friend, there was one person she had hoped would visit her, but she knew that thought was farfetched. Her Uncle Chris would get in serious trouble if he even went into the same building as the metal eyed girl.

Recently though, Ian's actions had been somewhat strange. Brooke just convinced herself it was just because they hadn't spoken to each other in a while and they hadn't wrote to each other while she spent her little time in the camp, but he seemed to act more intimate with her. Brooke shook her head and continued to wash herself before turning the steaming water off and getting dressed in a new gown that was light pink now.

She walked back to her room, feeling sort of awkward being barefoot and walking around in a nothing but a gown while other people were fully dressed, she sent sharp glares to those who looked at her with judging eyes and the people instantly cowered and quickened their pace. Brooke had been at hospital for at least three days now, and as much as she hated the camp, at the moment she rather be at the camp rather than the hospital. To her, hospitals meant death, people died more in hospitals than anywhere else, and she sort of felt like Zigzag being constantly paranoid. She felt like every nurse that walked in would do something to her, and always kept her guard up.

**3****rd**** POV**

Four days. Four days since Brooke had been sent to hospital, and to say the d-tent boys were worried was an understatement. They hadn't heard anything about her state and from what Mom had told them about the high chances of heart giving out after almost giving out from earlier times made them worried. But all never showed it. They continued to laugh, joke, and be themselves so it would appear that they weren't worried about the girl, but there were subtle hints about their worry, especially Squid. Squid had been sourer than usual, always picking fights and getting angry while Magnet looked just plain sad, Armpit and X-ray looked a bit down and even Zigzag seemed to miss the metal eyed girl who could eat metal nails for breakfast. Hector of course, stayed neutral for he didn't talk much anyways, at least not to everybody else, so he really missed Brooke, the two had become like siblings to each other when she spent her time on the streets. The whole camp however, haven't been as lively, they looked forward to waking up and going about the day for during the time some of them were able to get a good view of Brooke and her sexy body. Sending the wolf whistles and the cat calls her way.

Currently, the d-tent boys were messing with each other in the tent when Mom came in. A big, goofy smile splayed across his face. "Boys, I think you'd be glad to hear that Brooke is doing alright and she will be sent back to camp tomorrow." Mom announced, leaving before any of them had a chance to respond. A hint on a smile curled at Squids lips, but Magnet just full out grinned. Armpit, Zigzag, and X-ray all looked a little bit up.

**Brooke POV**

"You've been doing well Brooke, just remember to start eating more and keep drinking water. I suggest trying to find a way to help you sleep better, maybe try counting sheep or possibly sleeping with something maybe for some comfort." The doctor suggested. I nodded my head in understanding. "We'll be sending you back to camp today and I suggest you get as much sleep as possible."

I sighed when the doctor left the room; happy to leave the dreaded yet I felt my stomach do summersaults at the thought of going back to the camp that I also dread. The only plus side would be seeing my lizard friend who I would have to continuously apologize to him somehow for abandoning him. "Hey there criminal," a teasing familiar voice said.

I looked up to find a smirking Ian, who was forcing the smirk on his lips, but I could see in his eyes he was actually sad. "Don't worry Ian, I'll be back again before you know it, okay?" I tried to reassure him, grabbing onto his arm and looking sincerely into his eyes.

He let out a sigh, dropping his façade as he sat on the hospital bed and rested his elbows on his leg, roughly running his fingers through his hair. "I know… I just… I miss you, you're my best friend, and I don't feel happy about leaving you alone in a camp filled with juvenile boys that's miles away from any form of civilization," he replied, letting out another heavy sigh that ended up a growl.

"Ian, since how long have you known me? I can take care of myself, and you know it," I snapped, tired of him treating me like a crimpled child, like he has been the past days I've stayed at this dreadful, death filled place.

"Oh really," he snapped back, making me remember he had a temper as terrible of mine. "You didn't seem very good at 'taking care of yourself' when Michael did that to you!" I took a step back, my throat burning as I felt bile rise up it. It felt like I had been slapped, Ian never mentioned that, he had _promised _he would never mention that again, it appeared my friend wasn't truly my friend. "Oh Brooke," Ian said softer, probably just realizing what he had just said. I knew he was reaching out to touch my arm, but I shoved it away and took another step back.

"You…" I growled in a low voice, my body having trouble functioning. "We'd promise," I sobbed, the tears I had been holding back letting loose.

"We'd promised we would never speak of it again, how could _you_! You were suppose to be my friend," I yelled, looking up to find a Ian looking at me with regret evident in his eyes. He started to reach out to touch me again but slapped his arm away. "_Don't touch me_!" I screamed, now probably gaining the whole hospital's attention. "You are not my friend, and I never want to see you again," I growled. Ian knew how sensitive I was about the subject, he knew I acted unreasonably whenever it was brought it, it hurt that he even mentioned it.

"Brooke," he tried to reason softly, but I shoved past him and stormed out of the room, walking to anywhere but there.

"Miss Brooke, it's time to leave," the familiar security guard said, grabbing my arm roughly. I heard Ian call my name behind, but I shut out the sound, scraping the tears off my face. _I will not be weak_.

**3****rd**** POV**

The back to camp was going to be a long one. After the argument with Ian, Brooke fell asleep, feeling exhausted. She also wasn't looking forward to going back to the hell hole. But she figured that at least it was a distraction, a distraction from her Uncle Chris, a distraction from Ian, an distraction from life. And thankfully, when the metal eyed girl slept, it was complete black, no dreams of any whatsoever; a sleep where she would actually feel rested, and at peace.

The security guard looked down on her with saddened eyes. Despite knowing what she had done to get herself here, he knew she probably wasn't that bad of a girl, and didn't deserve to be sent to a juvenile camp that was made completely up of her opposite sex. He looked back out to the sky that was starting to very slowly darken for the sunset would be soon.

**To be continued…**

_A/N: Yep, another chapter. Thank you for reviewing, favorite/following! Also I would like to say I don't own Holes, but if I did I would've put Brooke in there!_


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Worried Much?**

**3****rd**** POV**

Once Brooke walked off of the bus, she took in a deep, sad sigh, leaning her head back to look straight up at the sky, and she instantly found the sliver of gray in the strawberry colored sunset. She was back, but that wasn't what was hurting the metal eyed girl, what was hurting her was what Ian said. It hurt Brooke; it hurt her _too much_, her stomach was doing cart wheels, her throat and eyes burned, and she felt herself slowly breaking, piece by piece of her was falling apart. Her mind scolded herself and shut the feelings away.

The girl realized faintly that all the boys nearby were calling and yelling to each other about her arrival, but she simply dismissed them and headed back to the tent. Despite being absolutely bored at the hospital, and being forced to sleep basically all day, at the moment the metal eyed girl wanted nothing more than to curl herself up in the lumpy mattress of her cot and sleep the right of the evening away.

Before Brooke knew it, she was in d-tent. Throwing herself onto her cot, she instantly started to search for her lizard friend that she had decided to name Benny. There was a hiss and the girl instantly jerked her eyes to the right and found the lizard on the floor. She picked him up and held him in her palms, using her thumbs to caress his back. "I'm sorry sweetie, I was sick, but I'm back now. I'm sorry for leaving you," Brooke said, trying to coax the deadly lizard. She knew he didn't understand her, but that didn't mean she didn't like to think he did understand her. The yellow-spotted lizard purred in response and seemed to have snuggled up in her palms, making the pale bluish black haired girl smile softly, now rubbing small circles in his back.

Brooke then laid on her back, placing the lizard on her stomach. Brooke didn't know long she laid there, for the whole time she was in pure bliss. She loved animals; and the only time she felt truly at peace in mind, body, and soul, was when the animal was nearby or even better, when she was snuggled up to a creature. She couldn't really explain it, it just relaxed her. And what was stranger was that she liked to baby talk the animals, and she knew if anyone heard her she would get a variety of strange looks because sometimes it would sound like she would be talking to a boyfriend or a significant other.

Without warning, Benny shot up in a defensive stance and hissed at the entrance of the tent. "Benny baby, what's wrong," Brooke asked, her brows scrunched down in confusion. That's when the girl could faintly hear talking, followed by laughing, which got louder as it came closer to the d-tent. Brooke quickly picked up the lizard and placed him softly on top of her bag, still lying on her back.

"God Armpit," a loud voice said before letting out a laugh, then, none other than the whole group of d-tent boys came in. Who froze almost instantly when they saw the girl laying in her cot, looking ahead with her feet propped up and her arms crossed behind her head.

"Chica," Magnet said first with a big grin. "You're back!"

Brook merely glanced back at Magnet before looking back ahead. "So it appears I am," she simply replied. Brooke then heard movement and looked up to find Squid with an angry scowl on his face. He then swiftly turned on his heal and left the group with girl. The metal eyed girl raised an eyebrow with a bored expression on her face, questioning his actions.

"Don't mind him, he's just been in this sour attitude lately," X-ray stated, going over to sit on the ledge of Brooke's cot. Brooke sat up so the two could sit next to each other, and the rest of the d-tent came over. Magnet sitting on Brooke's other side, and Armpit and Zig-zag sitting on the cot across from them.

"How you feeling chica," Magnet asked.

"Fine," Brooke simply replied once more.

"I bet the doctors were actually aliens and tried to pick out Brooke's brains so that they could watch us through you," Zig-zag stated suddenly. Brooke let her mask drop for only a second, her lips curling up just the tiniest bit in what seemed to be a smile, but her stoic mask instant replaced it making it so the boys almost didn't catch it… _almost._

_You're getting too soft; you almost smiled in front of them. What, are trying to prove what Ian said, because that's what it looks like. If you don't want something to happen again like last time you need to make those walls you hold around yourself like a prison's walls, _her thoughts stated.

"Brooke," a voice asked, ripping the girl from her thoughts to look up to find Magnet and the rest of the d-tent staring at her. "Dinner is about to start, you ready?"

"I'm fine, I'm not feeling really hungry," Brooke answered.

"No way in hell, am I going to accept that," a gruff, southern accent thick voice stated. And the group found Squid standing at the entrance, his arms crossed and a rage filled look plastered on his face.

"I'm fine Squid," Brooke snapped at him, now being reminded of her fight with Ian.

"Guys, give us a sec," Squid stated. The boys looked warily at each other, glancing worried looks at Squid and Brooke who in return, just stared at each other with a scowl plastered on their faces. "You really think that's 'gonna pass here? The whole you went to the hospital is because of little eating, not mention barely any sleep, and the fact your body was running on water only."

"Why should you care," she sneered, crossing her arms. "I'm not your responsibility, besides, the hospital fed me plenty and all I need is sleep. _I'm healthy._"

"Yeah? Well, we need to make sure it stays that way."

"Why, why does it matter? Like I said before, I'm not your responsibility."

"Yes, in fact, you are the whole tent's responsibility," Squid said, trying to play it off, he didn't want her to think he had been worried about her, when truthfully he was.

Brooke scoffed and rolled her eyed. "Don't worry, you won't get in trouble, and even if you did I would just tell them it's my fault." Brooke said shoving past him, hitting his shoulder rather roughly as she tried to make her way out of the tent, but she was stopped when Squid gripped her arm, twirling her so that she now faced him again. "Let go of me," she growled, her anger sparking.

"Do you have any idea how worried they were," he said, ignoring Brooke's comment.

"I said, let go of me," she stated once more, readying herself for a fight.

"I heard what you said, but I know if I don't hold you here you're not going to stay," Squid stated back. "Now answer me, do you have any idea how _worried_ they were?"

"No! Okay, I don't, but it's not like you have to okay. I don't need any favors," Brooke said, raising her voice louder.

"Were not! We were all worried about you; _I_ was worried about you okay. So no matter what, we'll keep trying to be your friend," Squid yelled.

"You don't have to, I never asked for your friendship," Brooke yelled in response.

Squid roughly ran his fingers through his hair. "God dammit woman!" he yelled.

Squid cupped Brooke's face, shocking her for she expected there to be some sort of fist fight, and then, crashed his lips on hers.

**To be continued…**

_A/N: Thank you for the many reviews! YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME! Here is another chapter, sort of short so I'll be posting another one soon… or maybe not just to torture you with this cliff hanger. :3. __THANK YOU FOR REVIEWING/FAVORITING/FOLLOWING__!_


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: Emotion Rollercoaster**

**3****rd**** POV**

To say Brooke was shocked by his actions is quite the understatement. Brooke had no idea what to do, and just stood there while Squid, who could feel her rigidness, continued to kiss her unmoving lips eagerly. Squid had hoped that maybe kissing her would prove his conscience wrong, that he didn't like the girl with eyes so gray they looked like metal, and with the hair so strange it was quite beautiful. But once he pressed his lips against her own soft ones, he knew… he was crushing on Brooke; it may sound cheesy, but his heart swelled with happiness and quickened pace, with his stomach did cart wheels. He loved the feeling of her lips on his, even thought she wasn't reacting to it except for the frozen as ice body, and the feeling of her cheeks in his hands. Squid wouldn't go as far to say he loved her, but he defiantly liked her more than a friend. She was defiant, mysterious, absolutely gorgeous, and she stood out. He remembered when she first came to the camp that he underestimated her. He thought she wouldn't last very long here since she was a girl, and was proved wrong when she instantly fought back against him.

What Squid didn't know, is that he just unintentionally brought up terrible memories for Brooke. Brooke was surrounded by shadows before she was back to place that made her life a living hell.

_I couldn't move; could barely even speak, but what was worst, was that I could feel. I could feel __**everything**__. I laid on my side, unable to pull myself away from him; his arm draped over my waist, his sweat slicked chest pressed against my breath, and he whispered into my ear, and at that moment, all I wanted to do was rip him to shreds. And without thinking, I let my tears drip from my eyes, after I had vowed to myself I would never let anyone see my tears. _

_ "Oh, baby," he says, noticing the warm liquid dropping my eyes. He brought up my cheek and cupped it, wiping any the tears. I tried to jerk out of his grasp but only managed to get a twitch that had been so small, I wasn't even sure if it happened. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be too rough with you, especially since you __**were**__ a virgin, but don't worry, next time you'll be used to the pain and we'll go much harder." Those words caused my tears to fall out more into waterfalls. _There's going to be a next time? He's going to do this to me again, _my thoughts questioned. He then crashed his lips on mine, prying my teeth open and sliding his tongue into my mouth. I had never felt so helpless._

"What the hell," Squid said. One second, he had been kissing her, and the next, Brooke literary shoved him away and fell to the floor with stumbling feet. Squid had a feeling she might shove him away roughly, but he didn't expect what came next. The southern boy then felt regret swirl inside his stomach, he knew he had done something that caused this, and he felt like a total ass. He shouldn't have forced it upon her, but it was pure instinct.

"Please stop, please!" she cried, curling up into a ball, and scotching up to the nearest corner. Her hair stuck to her face like glue, slicked with the water from her tears. Brooke had become a blubbering mess, weakly whimpering about some guy name Michael and asking him to stop. Squid wasn't sure what to do, so, he grabbed her by the shoulders, and then hugged her waist tightly which seemed to bring her out of whatever trance she was in. Brooke relaxed into his arms, realizing that he was gone, and she was not with him but instead with Squid who was holding her tightly like she was a lifeline. The girl felt a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach, usually when things like this happened she was held like she was some fragile china doll, not hold her with a squeezing, painful grip.

"Squid," Brooke questioned hesitantly. She wasn't used to hugs, and the fact that Squid, of all people, was hugging her. Squid shushed her, his hands running up and down her back. Brooke wanted to snap at him, to hit him, but his hands were so soothing to her, and she could feel her muscles relax completely, something she hadn't done in a long time. The girl then suddenly felt weak. She had cried more in these past days staying at the camp and at the hospital than she had in years. And right before Squid decided he was going to kiss her again, she shoved herself out of his embrace. "You dare say anything about tonight, and I rip off your _special _man parts and bury them in a hole," she threatened, grabbing Squid's shirt. And with that, she exited the tent, knowing it might be safer to go eat dinner in fear that Squid might tell d-tent about what had happened. She didn't want them to know she was weak, or that she cried, or that Squid had seen her when she was most vulnerable.

She hated feeling so vulnerable, it always seemed to bite her in butt whenever she was. And Ian had so kindly brought it up back at the hospital. Brooke wanted nothing more than to shut herself away somewhere, only surrounded by animals for company.

**Brooke POV**

I was torn. Sure, I was livid that Squid had seen me at my most weak and the fact that he had kissed me, and thought he could just randomly do that, but that brought me to the other emotion, which was… happiness. I was so confused. I never been happy, sure with my Uncle Chris, my parents, and Ian I was happy, but for nobody else but them. Why exactly was I happy about?

Confused to what my train of thoughts were; I shoved what had happened out of my mind and continued over to the dining place. I then realized that if I ate dinner I would be succumbing to Squid, and that was the last thing I'd ever do so I headed back to the ten in hops that Squid had already left for dinner, and wouldn't be there. But once I was back to the tent, I noticed Squid was still inside and hid myself so that I could see him, but still stay hidden. Squid's eyes looked distant, and he was touching his lips, causing me to raise an eyebrow in confusion. Suddenly, the peaceful mood he held snapped and he punched the side of one of the cots. "Dammit!" he yelled, roughly running his hands through his hair with eyes that glimmered with rage. "Why do you affect me the way you do," he asked out loud. I was confused to what he was talking about and kept hidden, despite knowing that it was wrong to do so and knowing I would hate it if someone did that to me. "Why Brooke," I froze at those words, worried slightly if he had seen me. "Why is it that I can't get you off my mind Brooke," he continued, and with those words, I felt myself go even more rigid, if that was even possible. _He likes me? What if he does the same thing Michael did to me, no, Squid would never do that me… would he? _My thoughts jumbled together, and I felt my heart speed up to a painful beat and my stomach drop. I wrapped my arms around my stomach, my breath quickened, and I slid down so I was sitting with my knees pulled against my chest. _Why am I reacting like this? _I questioned. Normally, when someone stated they liked me, I would just push it to the side, and not care about it, but Squid… I wasn't sure what to think of him.

**To be continued…**

_A/N: Don't hate me please! Another quite short chapter I know, I'll post another one soon. I forgot the last one I made short and had to update soon. Anyway, thank you for following/favorite/reviewing!:D You guys can thank CurlyNerdy101 who messaged me about updating my story, inspiring me to make a quick update._


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: Fear… It's a Funny Thing**

**3****rd**** POV**

A loud sound made its way throughout the whole darkened camp, causing a course of groans to renounce throughout the dry juvenile camp. The only juvenile girl risen up from her bed, rubbing her palms lazily over her face as if she was wiping all the sleepiness away from her head. She could hear all of the other boys whine and groan from having to wake up early.

Brooke decided to put Squid's 'secret' confession deep, in the back of her mind. Brooke couldn't decide if it was whether she didn't want to deal with it, or if she didn't know what to say to him. She obviously was going to turn him down if he mentioned the two being 'together,' but there was this voice that kept saying that she might not actually want to reject, and instead, be with him. But the metal eyed girl didn't need any guy to be a strong woman; she was independent, which meant no to relationships, besides, Brooke wasn't looking for love. She didn't really like children, so there was no way there would be family in her future, and mostly all couples wanted children after they got married and settled down. In fact, the pale bluish black haired girl wasn't sure if she would even get married.

"Hello, chica, what's been on your mind," Magnet asked, snapping Brooke out of her thoughts to turn and look at her fellow animal lover, who was fully dressed.

"Did you say something," she asked, running a hand through her locks that were slightly wispy from staying in a bun for so long, and once more, she pulled her hair into a bun on the top of her head, going over to her bag of stuff that had her extra shirt in there. She pulled out the white fabric, inspecting it and wondering whether or not she should just keep on the shirt she was currently wearing.

"Uh, yes!" Magnet answered, crossing his arms and looking at her, like he was expecting her to answer. Brooke simply just sighed, she hadn't been listening to him, so she couldn't answer, and instead, she just shut her mouth. "Well."

"Well what?" the girl asked, already being bored of this conversation, and still not really paying attention to him.

The Hispanic chuckled at her answer, "nothing chica." The girl then rolled her eyes at Magnet, turning her back to the group of boys who were still half asleep, and taking off her sleeping shirt, and instead, putting on her working shirt, completely oblivious to the boys who instantly perked up at the action, and stared at the back of her body, wondering what it would look like if she was actually turned around. Squid managed to rip his eyes away from her smooth, soft-looking back and looked around at the other d-tent campers, growling a little at them. The only person who didn't stare at her was Zero, who seemed to just mind his own business as he finished getting dressed and left the tent. When Brooke turned around with her newly placed shirt on, all of the boys turned the direction of their eyes somewhere else, in hopes she didn't just catch them staring. They had a feeling she wouldn't act too kindly to them.

Brooke didn't seem to catch them staring, just snorting at their suspicious actions, but she just suspected that it was boys being boys. Leaving the tent, she walked out into the cool, shadowed air. Listening to the staggering steps of the other campers, wondering why a group of guys who were supposedly super tough, were whining over just getting up early, but she had to admit, this was too early than she liked.

"Hey there girl," a male voice spoke. Brooke turned to the voice, assuming that he was talking to her since she was the only girl here. The metal eye girl came face to face with none other than Rattlesnake himself, who smirked largely, placing an arm around her shoulder. Brooke quickly took his arm off of her, which strangely made his grin spread wider. "Don't be like that, just wanted to talk to you," Rattlesnake continued.

"What is it," Brooke answered rather bluntly.

"Just wanted to know if you wanted to be my girl," the tattooed and pierced guy stated. Brooke opened her mouth to retort, but was interrupted by the man, much to her annoyance. "Just hear me out; I like ya, alright? You got spark, and quite the attitude, I like that… I like you and you're the only girl who hasn't jumped at the offer of joining my bed, which I also really like, so, what do you say, be my girlfriend?" Brooke tried to hide her shock at the words that poured from his mouth, but her eye's did slightly widen at the revelation; she wasn't sure whether he was being serious or not, and she slightly narrowed her eyes, wondering if was just saying this to get into her pants, but Rattlesnake held a very serious look on his face. Unsure of what to do for she remembered the last time she was confessed to, and how terrible that turned out to be, so she simply huffed, and turned on her heel to walk away; she didn't want to say yes, but she was too scared to say no, for fear that the past might repeat itself, just with a different person in a not so very different situation.

"Wait, just think about it," Rattlesnake said, grabbing onto the girl's arm, when the girl stayed completely frozen almost like as if she was ice, which made the boy with the black eyebrow piercing release her and watch as she walked away. _Why didn't you reject him right away? He's just like Michael; they're __**all **__just like him. Don't tell me, it's because you're scared, you're so weak, Ian was right, you can never protect yourself, _Her thought's voiced. Brooke shook her head, feeling the pounding of tear beat against her eyes, but she refused to let them fall; to let her subconscious be right. She wouldn't tell him this, but the only reason why she didn't say no was because she was absolutely petrified, and that fact made her angry, she didn't want to be weak anymore.

The confused girl walked away from the conversation, coming up next to her Hector who just stood there, and like always, minding his own business. He glanced up at her, raising an eyebrow. He had seen the whole interaction she had with the man named after his vicious tattoo's, and wondered why she didn't reject him right away like he had seen her do so many times. He then suspected she was just trying to keep her cool, since he knew how her anger flared whenever a guy made a move on her, and remembering her first day here, how she tried to keep from punching and strangling Rattlesnake who made a move on her, and didn't only because the d-tenter's jumped in to protect her before she could. But Hector could see it was more, he had in fact known Brooke for some time now.

"Don't give me that look Hector," Brooke whispered, noticing his staring from the corner of her eye. "I know I should've just rejected him instead of giving him hope by not saying anything," she continued, crossing her arms as the duo waited for the rest of the camp to come. Hector didn't say anything in return, hearing more of the boys coming up to wait as well to start the day, and of course, the loud sound of the group of d-tent boys came up, who seemed to be way more awake than they were minutes ago.

"Hey sweetheart, why the long face?" Magnet asked, accompanied with a chuckle, coming up to the duo, his voice still laced with humor from talking about something with the rest of the group.

"I'm not sure what you are talking about," Brooke answered bored with a bored expression.

She then felt an arm worm its way onto her shoulder, and tilted her head to see that it had been Magnet, who looked back at her with the cheekiest smile she probably have ever seen. She rolled her eyes, and removed his arm off her, catching the glare Squid sent his way, rolling his signature toothpick in between his teeth angrily. He looked like he was seething, and it seemed like Magnet noticed. Brooke in return, noticed how he seemed like he might know that Squid might like Brooke, and was doing this on purpose to tick him off, but then she noticed there was a hint of sadness in his eyes, making the metal eyed girl confused. What could Magnet, the guy who seemed to always be cheerful, possibly be sad about? Brooke felt that worried about him, which was extremely rare, but it did in fact scream one thing: she was indeed friends with Magnet, and she hadn't noticed till now.

**To be continued..**

_A/N: So, Rattlesnake wants to date her… yep, gross Rattlesnake wants to be with her… poor Brooke. Sorry if you were mad about her not rejecting him immediately, but it seems that Brooke was terrified about rejecting, wonder why… Actually I do know why, and I have a feeling a couple of you might guess you know why too. Her past will be reveled soon enough, just you wait young grasshoppers! Anyways, a reminder, I don't own Holes and thank you for Reviewing/Following/Favorite!_


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: Secrets Can Spill As Easily As Milk**

**3****rd**** POV**

Digging seemed to be harder than before for Brooke. She was used to constantly working, but with that hospital visit, the doctor and nurses seemed hell bent on making sure she barley worked at all. So, she way needed to work out more. And that meant digging was worse than it's ever been, and it didn't help that her mind seemed to be preoccupied. Thoughts about Rattlesnake and Squid ran through her head. She couldn't find in it herself to concentrate, and every time she managed to get Squid out of her thoughts just for a little bit, she notice him glance her way with concerned eyes, and then the process went over again. Brooke was constantly trying to motivate herself, or at least force herself, to approach Rattlesnake after she was done with her hole and he was done with his, and tell him no to his offer, but then, that lingering fear came back. She knew some time or another she would have to face her fears, try to push past them and start anew, but she couldn't find it in herself to do it.

Time passed, and hours later, it became lunch. "Brooke," Zero said hesitantly and quietly; from the way the guys acted from the last time he talked, he wasn't sure if he ever wanted them to hear him again. But his friend had yet to notice his presence, so, he had to make it known.

"Hmm," she answered absent mindedly, shoving her shovel rather roughly into the dirt.

"It's lunch time," Zero continued. Brooke finally looked up to him, and that simple act seemed to pull her from her thoughts.

"Oh, sorry… I guess I just got a bit distracted," the girl trailed off, and then shook herself, jumping out of her hole, and following Zero to the truck that held their lunch. Zero wanted to ask more; he wanted to know how to help his old friend, for he knew that she had seemed worse even though she had just came back from the hospital and got rest for a couple days. But of course, he held back, bit his tongue, he was truthfully afraid that if he asked her what was wrong, she would get defensive at him. Even though she was a heck of a lot nicer to him than the rest of the d-tent, he knew her temper sometimes got in the way of her knowing better knowledge.

The metal eyed girl grabbed her lunch, which consisted of an apple and a sandwich, and sat down on the edge of her hole, while Zero grabbed his own lunch, sitting right next to her. Then, all of the sudden, Squid plopped down on the other side of Brooke, as well as the rest of the d-tent following behind him. "What is it Squid," Brooke asked, followed by a sigh, taking her sandwich away from her mouth for she was about to take a bite.

"Don't know what you mean," Squid simply answered followed by a shrug. The girl in return, sent him her sharpest glare she could muster, that even made Squid visibly squirm; he had never seen a look like that on her face, Brooke wasn't in the mood to play games, and Squid gave in. "Fine, I came to make sure you didn't skip out on lunch."

"Look," Brooke said, lifting the sandwich. "I'm eating okay? So stop your unnecessary worrying." Squid rolled his eyes.

"I don't think it's unnecessary; considering you were sent to the hospital because of it." He retorted. The duo didn't even notice the glances the rest of the d-tent sent to each other. They felt uncomfortable; it seemed Squid and Brooke were currently in a world where it was only them two, and the caused an air of strangeness run over them.

"I'm alive aren't I? It wasn't that serious anyways, and besides, I'm not going to let that happen again."

"Just making sure darling."

Their conversation then ended with glares sent each other's way. They then broke their gazes from each other and started eating, Brooke acting indifferent as Squid sent small glances her way, making sure she didn't stop her eating. The whole d-tent weren't oblivious to the signs. They knew Squid was worried about Brooke, they knew he blamed himself when she was so close to death and was sent to the hospital; he tried to cover it up from them but they would have to be both blind and deaf to not notice it. Brooke on the other, it was obvious her prison-like walls that she built around her heart and soul was breaking just a bit, only a simple chip; but that small chip seemed to throw her into a frenzy. The metal-eyed girl didn't want to open herself to anyone, and most of the d-tent had a feeling it was because people have let her down time and time again. That they ruined her core and she was afraid of showing the ugly side of her.

Which in return made them wonder: what happened that was so terrible, you refuse to never speak of it again? That made you isolate yourself from other people?

"So chica, wanna' tell us what you did to get here," Magnet asked, knowing that Brooke still wouldn't answer that question.

"No," was all she said, taking a bit of her apple, trying to hold back a shudder from the bitter taste. Truthfully, the girl didn't like apples, and always found herself feeling sick after eating them; even if they were ultra sweet apples, like the Honey Crisp ones, she always ended up with a stomach ache.

"Well, tonight you're going to have to. Mom is going to have one of those counseling conferences tonight, and he'll defiantly make sure you tell about your story," X-ray piped up, taking note of the way Brooke's jaw clenched. She knew; tonight was the night they would finally see that she was truly weak, and tonight would be the night where they'll finally know that they could easily take advantage of her. The pale bluish black haired girl's stomach churned at the thought. She was tired of people seeing and knowing that she was weak at her core, and tonight, it would be exposed once more.

**Squid POV**

Like always, digging was hell; sun was too hot, clouds tortured us by not coming, the ground was too hard, and our hands were blistered up from weeks and weeks of digging hole. I always seemed to find myself glancing Brooke's way, checking her water jug to see if she had drank any. Thankfully, she did, her jug now being on a 1/3 of the way full, but her hole was extremely close to being done so I knew she would be alright. Even after spending days in the hospital, she still managed to dig her hole faster than others which still appalled me, thinking back to how her mouth slipped and she told the d-tent how she was used to hard labor, and mentioned something about living on the streets.

I could hear her sigh in content, and I discreetly looked at her, seeing that she was finished with her hole and was patting herself down in vain. But what I also noticed was that she glanced around at all the other tents that were still out digging their holes and her eyes seemed to catch onto somebody just getting out of their finished hole. But the person I saw her looking at made my blood boil. Why was she looking at Rattlesnake?! And then, Rattlesnake looked up, and the two seemed to stare at each other for a bit before Rattlesnake smirked and winked at her. Brooke turned her head to the side, an obvious look of disgust plastered onto her features.

I noticed I only had a foot left to dig, and hurriedly dug it, thinking I defiantly needed to talk to a certain bluish haired girl. My body and mind needed to know desperately why she had been looking at Rattlesnake, and why he seemed to know.

I'm not sure if I've ever worked so hard in my life, but I wanted to get this hole down. In minutes, the foot of dirt was on the side of my hole, and I leaped out, ignoring the calls of the rest of the d-tent who were still working. I clenched my jaw, angrily dragging my shovel behind me, and rolled my toothpick between my teeth, trying not to snap the tiny thing in half.

A flash of familiar hair was shown in my sight as I made it to camp, and I quickly put my shovel away and ran after her. We defiantly needed to talk. "Brooke," I called, stopping her in her tracks.

"Squid, you never finish this early," was all she said, turning around to me showing me her familiar hardened features.

"I need to talk to you."

"What about?" She asked which was followed by a sigh.

"What's up with you 'nd Rattlesnake," I asked, my voice turning a bit cold.

"Nothing that concerns you." I grabbed her hand before she could walk away, but when Brooke got whirled around back to me, she socked me in the face, a flash of pain spreading throughout my head. "Don't touch me," she said coldly, but despite how good she puts up the front, I heard it. I heard the slight panic in her voice, like she was afraid I would do something to her.

**3****rd**** POV**

It had been later that night, and although Squid was still confused as to why Brooke acted the way she did; strong Brooke who sent glares almost as easy as people smile when seeing cute panda's sneeze, the girl who looked as if she was about to snap Rattlesnake's neck when he flirted with her, the girl who acted as if she didn't give a crap about anything and especially anyone.

Currently, Mom had chairs pulled out, and the whole d-tent was having their counseling session. Although they hid it well, everyone in the d-tent, minus Zero, were excitedly waiting for Brooke to spill the beans about why she was here. Waiting this long has made them antsy, and also made them start to slightly believe Zig-zag's accusations about her. They wanted to believe anything so far so that they didn't feel as if this girl was a total mystery. "So, you all know the drill, except for Brooke, so, who here wants to start?" Mom asked, smiling cheerfully.

"Mom, how about we have Brooke start," suggested Armpit, grinning mischievously at the other boys. Only Zero noticed how Brooke clench her jaw, and her knuckles fisted together and turned white and she gripped onto her chair. She looked as if she was ready to go over there and shoot Armpit in his head.

"That's a great idea Theodore, I bet you all know about each other, but none of you have gotten acquainted with Brooke yet," Mom answered, acting as if his idea was the best ever heard of; better than the idea of democracy. The dorky man then turned to Brooke, who looked like she was ready to burn the entire White House down. "So Brooke, would you care to share your story? Why are you here?"

"It'd none of your business," she seethed, baring her teeth at him.

"Brooke, if you don't talk about what you did to screw up your life, you won't build character," Mom criticized, giving a pointed look. "If you want, I can always read off of your file-"

"No!" Brooke screamed, leaping up in her seat and causing the boys to leap up into theirs. Her hands released the side of the chair, moving to her laps, her tightened fists started to shake. "Fine," she said through her gritted teeth quietly, yet, loud enough for everyone to hear her.

"You want to know why I'm here… fine," she said, her head turned down causing her strange colored hair to fall over. "The reason… why I was sent here," she raised her head, her expression turning as hard as a boulder, "was because of emptive murder." She finished, her voice having an eerie feel to it, causing the boys in the room, minus Mom, shudder and eyes widen as they took in the new information; something they never guessed would ever have happened.

**To be continued…**

_A/N: Sorry for the long wait on the update; I hit a writer's block and couldn't find any inspiration. Next chapter will be an interesting one. Thank you for reviewing/following/favorite! I don't own Hole by the way, if I did, Brooke would've been added to the story… you don't even know how much I like her:3. _


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: Small Actions Show Some People Care**

**3****rd**** POV**

"And why would you do that Brooke? The boy was a great boy, going places with his grades and his great athletic ability so why-"

Brooke cut off Mom once more, and enraged look crossing her face, and an aura surrounding her that was so deadly, she could rival Lucifer himself. "Going places?! Such a great guy?!" she screamed. "I wouldn't have tried to kill him unless I had a good enough reason to," she said, looking like she was ready to jump from her seat and throttle him.

"And what would that be?"

The girl faltered; a pained and heart wrenching expression crossing her features. "Fine, you want to know so badly, I'll tell you. I tried to kill him because he raped me okay!" she screamed, tears threatening to spill. "But it's not like anybody would believe me," she continued, giving out a dry, humorless laugh that caused shivers to run up the arms of everyone in the room, but to her, the laugh caused her heart to ache; it felt like someone had just punched her in the chest. "No, nobody would believe the town _misfit_, the town _outcast_, the town _freak_! Everybody believes the town's _amazing_ football player who's going to go places!"

"And you want to know what," she continued, standing up and tears falling out of her eyes like the Niagara Falls. The back of her throat burned, her stomach started to flip, she felt so sick, so in pain, like her insides were burning from the inside out. "God dammit, it hurt _so much_," she squeaked, hugging herself despite how weak she looked. "_He_ hurt me so much, that I _couldn't walk_ for a whole day; that's right, he raped me so many times, I had _lost count_, and you know what hurts more of all, was the fact that when he drugged me, it was some form of drug that made it so I couldn't even move; the most I could do was blink. And the fact that I could _feel_ everything." Brooke no longer cared how weak she may look at this moment, just thinking back to the night, at the party, how he literally raped her from ten at night all the way to six in the morning. Only giving her about thirty minute breaks that were too short in her mind before he was at it again. Michael made sure he got his worth out of it, and he was such an idiot, because she remembered going back to school, and how he assumed that she would just date him after she felt what kind of _pleasure_ he could give her.

Before Brooke knew what she was doing, she ran from the tent. She couldn't face it anymore. The pain was too unbearable. She soon found herself right in front of the library shed which was actually filled with shovels. The pain was soon replaced with anger, and Brooke smashed her fist once into the shed, the shed shaking from the power that flashed from her fist. The metal eyed girl's fist then hit over and over against the shed, anger flaring inside of her as she gritted her teeth. She was soon in a daze as her mind wandered to moment after Michael finished with her.

**Flashback**

_"Ah, wasn't that good, I know it's defiantly making me feel good," Michael stated, rolling over to face Brooke who currently laid on her back, unable to move except for a couple twitches. The laid under her bare body, her legs and arms slightly flared out, and her head was turned to the side, facing the naked jock. "See, if we were dating we could do this any time you want, any where you want, just say the words babe," he said cockily, giving her a smirk followed by a wink. If the girl could move, she was sure she would be puking up mountain of vomit, just the thought of him inside of her was a disgusting image enough, but that fact that he had been, and she had felt it, made Brooke feel dirty inside. _

_ The bed then shook as the bulky, muscular jock sat up and got on top of Brooke, pulling a blanket over their bodies. "You're looking a bit swollen down there, sorry if I was too rough on you, but you looked like you enjoyed rough," Michael said, leaned down and started to suck onto the metal eyed girl's neck as if to apologize, making her wanting nothing more than to knee him as hard as possible in his manhood. But still, she couldn't move. _

_ Michael pulled away, fortunately, and got off the bed. "I think it's time we go home, I'll drop you off." The jock then leaned down, grabbing the littered clothes on the ground. He quickly dressed himself and went over to Brooke, moving her arms and chest around to put on her bra. He bit his lip, his eyes going dark with lust as they ran over her birthday suit. Brooke could see it; he wanted to go another round and it made her absolutely sick. _

_ Michael then finished dressing her and then picked her up bridal style. The pale bluish black haired girl could not wait to get as far away from Michael as possible and call her friend Lily; to tell her what had happened. Brooke knew for sure if she called her friend Ian he would defiantly try to murder Michael and she didn't want him to get in trouble for her. Lily however, was Brookes only friend that was a girl and was extremely kind to her; ditching all her other friends when they tried to get Lily to stop hanging out with Brooke. She knew she needed to tell someone, and that person would be Lily. _

_ The brunette jock then placed Brooke in his car and started to drive her home, knowing where she lived because he had actually driven her home once a long time a ago. The girl then tried to move again, smiling inwardly when she felt that she could move her fingers and toes, and could lightly move her foot, but not very much. It seemed like hours passed, but in reality, only a few minutes flew by them. Before she knew it, Brooke saw a familiar white and gray house; it wasn't her house, it was Ian's, but she spent large amounts of time over there; it wasn't like she had a home to go to. _

_ Michael stopped by the house, moving over to the paralyzed girl and picking her up. He set her down in her back yard, pressing a peck to her swollen, burning lips before leaving her behind. Brooke let out a shaky, deep sigh in relief, finding it hard to even move her chest. Like lightning, exhaustion sparked inside of the metal eyed girl, and she found herself tired to the point of not being able to open her eyes. She then fell into a deep sleep._

**3rd POV**

"Brooke!" a familiar voice exclaimed which pulled her out of her daze. But it didn't stop her white, bloody, splintered fists from hitting against the already abused shed.

Suddenly, arms snaked around her waist and she yelled in return, trying to squirm out of their grip. "Brooke," Magnet said again, trying to calm the rage and pain filled girl. She grabbed at him arms, trying to get him to lighten it his grip.

"Let me go Magnet," she screamed, turning around of his grip, and pounded her fists into his chest. The Hispanic instantly let her go, rubbing his chest with a furrowed face. He had to admit, she had some strength in those fists, and the fight she sent against his chest actually had hurt.

Before Brooke had a chance to get away Squid came up and pulled her into his arms from behind. "Squid," she yelled coldly, so cold that it would've scared most people away, but they weren't Squid, he was tougher than that. The girl then tried to hit him but couldn't seem to twist around, finding his grip stronger than Magnets. She then tried to kick him, but altogether, her body buckled to the ground as she held back painful sobs.

Squid hushed her, loosening his hold on her a bit and moving one of his arms and running a hand through Brookes pale bluish black locks. He looked down at her, watching her face softening. She then sighed, leaning into his body.

The brunette suddenly felt an urge to kiss her, but held back, remembering she was going through a tough point currently, and the way she acted last time to him kissing her. He instead nuzzled the side of her head, completely forgetting about Magnet who had stood up, falling over before from the impact of Brooke's strength. And was now watching them interact. "C'mon, lets get you to bed alright," Squid said softly, shocking Magnet.

The brunette tough guy was known to be, well, a tough guy. He had never heard him soften up as much as he did right at this moment with the so-called tough girl in his arms. That was when Magnet realized something extremely important: he never had a chance with her.

**To be continued…**

_A/N: Hey guys, finished this chapter faster than the others. The reviews and the following/favorites really help, so thank you everyone! I don't own Holes by the way. And I hope you all love the Squid/Brooke moments and the small Magnet/Brooke moment!_


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15: Remembering the Bad Times**

**Warning: A lot of flashbacks!**

**Squid POV**

I had taken her back to the tent after her outbreak, holding her body close to mine the entire time. The rest of the guys had already left to the Wreck room or somewhere that wasn't here. Magnet and I were given the job of taking care of her since none of the other guys were as close to her as we were, which, in a strange way, pleased me.

I couldn't stop denying my feelings any longer, I knew I liked her more than a friend. Heck, most of the time I just want to smash my lips against her, I want to hold her and glare at any other guy who dare looks at Brookes way, I want wrap my arm around her waist and hold her hands. I wasn't sure when I started to like her, but I believe it was the moment when I first met her. This girl was in camp, and unlike any other girl, juvenile or regular, she was different from them. When we first talked, we ended up fighting with each other followed by glares, and the truth was, was that she secretly scared me. I had never met a girl before who didn't take any crap from me or anybody, I had never met a girl who could take my fights with full force and throw it right back into my face. So I just told myself I hated her and tried to not care that the other boys in the camp watched her like a piece of meat, that they wolf whistled at her and sent numerous suggestive cat-calls. I just ignored all of it.

Brooke then started to calm down, pulling me away from my thoughts. Currently, I was holding her form in my arms, on my lap. I had never seen her cry, and I admit there was a few times I really wanted to make her cry, but now seeing it, I knew I never wanted to see it again. "No, I can't go to bed yet, you two… need to know the full truth," she said quietly, but loud enough for us to hear.

"Brooke," Magnet said hesitantly, placing his hand on her knee. I felt my protective instincts kick in, but reframed it. Magnet was my friend, and it wasn't like he liked Brooke like that. "You don't have to tell us what happened, but were here," Magnet continued softly. I felt Brooke nod against my chest, pulling away a little so that she was only sitting in my lap, not curled up against me, but I did keep my arms wrapped around her waist, I wasn't sure if I wanted to let her go just yet, I didn't know when it would before I got to hold her again.

"No," she said, followed by a pathetic sniffle which resulted in her rubbing her nose against the back of her hand. "I guess you two deserve to know… God, I'm so weak. I've trying this entire time to distant myself so I would never make friends with the two of you, but it seems I just go back to being weak little Brooke again," Brooke continued, followed by a dry, humorless laugh.

"You're not weak," I said defiantly, squeezing her a bit tighter. "Why would you ever think that," I continued with a growl.

"Well, you see, it all started when I had first started going to this new high school. At first, I thought it was going to be like how I am normally with my other high schools, but, Lily was there.-"

**Flashback**

_Brooke walked into the building, taking in its sight. It was a bit different from other schools; it was dirtier and had a distinct smell of marijuana. She couldn't help but roll her eyes at the smell of the nasty drug, and moved forward, looking for her first class and trying to remember where to go. She had a feeling that this school was going to play out like the others: she would be an outcast with no friends, but that was okay, it wasn't like she went to school to make friends. _

_ While the metal eyed girl wasn't paying attention, she ran right into a petite, fair skinned brunette. "Oh," the girl exclaimed, noticing she ran right into a girl who held a terrifying aura, and a killer look on her face; she had to force herself from shaking in fear. "I'm sorry," she apologized quickly, shaking her hands at Brooke. _

_ Brooke rolled her eyes and grunted, something the brunette wasn't expecting, moving away from the brunette and walking away. The girl stared out at Brooke with confused eyes, thinking that she would yell at her, but then she realized that is could be just a front, that the girl might actually be nice. "Wait," the brunette called, running up to the pale bluish black haired girl, and stopped her in her tracks, receiving an intense glare. "You're new here right?"_

_ "Yeah," Brooke grunted again, wanting nothing more than to leave this conversation. _

_ "Well, how about you sit with me at lunch, I mean, to apologize for running into you," she said. _

_ "You don't have to."_

_ "No, but I want to… Oh! My name is Lily by the way," the brunette continued, sticking out her dainty hand with a large smile._

_ Brooke eyed her hand for a second with her usual emotionless face before taking it into her own. "Brooke."_

**3****rd**** POV**

"-Lily had been nice to me and started to be my friend, which I found odd but yet, I was so happy. No one ever has wanted to be my friend." Brooke looked down at her now clasped hands, a faint smile coming onto her lips. "People tried to stop our friendship, but Lily never quit, she simply dropped her friends when they didn't like me… But, then he came in, Michael…"

**Flashback**

_"Isn't he so dreamy," Lily said smiling faintly. Brooke turned her attention from her locker to look over when Lily was staring, finding the exact man she was swooning over. It was built man, who was most likely a jock, with brown hair, brown eyes, and tan skin. To anybody else, he would be extremely handsome, and Brooke bet all of the women want him as their boyfriend, but Brooke never really checked people out, and she was more interested in what kind of person they are. _

_ "Not really," Brooke snorted, continuing putting her books into her locker. She then glanced out of the corner of her eye, watching her friend's reaction. She then saw the gleam in her eye: Lily was in love with Michael. "You really like him… don't you," she asked hesitantly. _

_ "Yeah, I mean, we talk a lot in class, we're friends, and he always it patting my head or arm. I really like it when he touches me, I get these butterflies and they just don't stop fluttering, and when he talks to me and laughs at one of my jokes, I feel… amazing," Lily answered softly. Brooke frowned; she knew Michael was a flirter, but he was serious when it came to relationships, which meant: you date him, he will be completely loyal the entire time. She was afraid that Lily had fallen to his clutches, had fell for charm, like Brooke had observed most girls did, believing this man actually had liked them when he saw them nothing more as friends. _

_ "Hey Lily," Michael said, approaching the two. He then noticed the girl next to her, and felt his heart stutter. There standing, had to be the most beautiful girl ever. She had gray eyes that looked like they were embedded with metal and this weird pale bluish hair color which contrasted with her peach colored skin. She glanced up at him, and Michael put on his best, genuine smile, but felt his courage falter when she simply raised an eyebrow, completely unimpressed with him. "Who's this," he asked._

_ "Oh, Michael, this is my friend Brooke. Brooke, this is Michael," Lily said gleefully like she usually always does. Michael stuck his hand out, which Brooke accepted, giving his an intense stare down while doing shaking his large hand, but he never faltered, even though in the inside he was shuddering with lust at her look. Brooke then turned her attention to her locker, thinking that if she ignored him he would just leave her alone and talk to Lily._

_ "So, Brooke," Michael continued, completely ignoring Lily. "You must be new, I think I would remember a beautiful girl like you," he flirted, followed by a wink. _

_ The metal eyed girl turned to him, she scowled at him before turning to her heart struck friend. "C'mon, let's get to History," was all she said, before she turned once more and made her way to her next class, Lily following at her heels and Michael standing in the dust, frowning at the rejection he got. _

**3****rd**** POV**

"-You see, Lily, she liked this jock named Michael, who liked me. At first, it was just stupid high school drama. But then everything changed. It happened one night after a football game-"

**Flashback**

_"Yes, we won!" Lily yelled, gripping onto Brookes arm as Brooke stared out at the football field, unimpressed. She didn't like sports or even gym for the matter. She found it idiotic that people idolized athletes; there were only rare cases where she found it fit. "Oh, look! Michael is waving us down let's go!"_

_ The brunette girl pulled the other girl along, who was defiantly not looking forward to seeing and talking to Michael. She hated how he flirted with her yet her best friend, who liked him quite a lot, was right beside her; he must be blind and deaf to not see Lily liked him, but Brooke was sure he was used to girls acting like that towards him. "Hey girls," he greeted with a large smile, covered in dirt and sweat. _

_ "Hi," Lily answered cheerfully. "Great game, you did amazing," she commented, a hint of a blush rising on her cheeks._

_ "Thanks, what did you think Brooke," he asked, turning to girl who held his affections. _

_ "I sports ludicrous," she answered bluntly making Michael inwardly smirk; yep, he defiantly had to have her. _

_ "Brooke!" Lily gasped. "Be nicer," she scolded. "Anyways, you did great out there, you really did, Brooke here is just not a big fan of sports."_

_ "Hey, Lily, could you please give Brooke and me a moment to talk," Michael asked, smiling kindly at the brunette girl. Lily smiled and walked off, leaving behind her friend who held a pleading look in her eyes; she didn't want to be alone with him. "So Brooke, I was thinking… Well, I like you, a lot, and was wondering if you wanted to be my girlfriend."_

**To be continued…**

_A/N: So, I know I left it on a sort of a cliff hanger, not really, sorry. Now some of her past will be revealed. _


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16: The Past Revelation**

**Warning: Lots of flashbacks**

**Flashback**

_Brooke almost widened her eyes with surprise, but she suppressed it. "No," she said bluntly, trying to keep herself from scowling. Lily liked him, there was no way she was going to betray her friend like that, and besides, she disliked Michael a lot; he wasn't someone she wanted to date. _

_ Michael visibly frowned. "You know, as much as your hard-to-get routine is a fun and turn on, it gets tiring after a while," he commented. "C'mon Brooke, just go out with me."_

_ "You're an idiot," Brooke finally snapped, causing the jock to stare at her in shock. "If you haven't noticed, Lily has a huge crush on you, and you're hurting her feelings."_

_ "So what? I don't like Lily like that, I want to be with you," Michael answered simply._

_ "No, I will not betray my friend," Brooke finished, sending a sneer his way before walking away, in the direction of Lily who was currently talking with one of the other football players. Michael watched her go, he clenched his fists; he had never been rejected before, and now that she did, he was for sure he wanted her for himself. And he would get her eventually; too bad he doesn't have patience. _

**3****rd**** POV**

"-Michael had asked me out, and I said no of course; Lily liked him and well, I would date a guy like him. Let's just say, he didn't take the rejection easily. After that day, he was constantly asking me out, over and over, sometimes waiting for me outside my classrooms. Then, one day, there was this party. Lily had really wanted to go, and well, I felt bad I hadn't told her about Michael asking him out, I didn't want to her feelings, so I went with her… that was when it happened."

**Flashback**

_"Wow, looks like a great party," Lily commented next to Brooke, who was in return blushing, embarrassed and furious. Lily had forced her to wear a dress, so, currently she was wearing a tube top black dress with a layer of white lace over it, stopping right at her mid thighs. She thought it was way too short, and was jealous that Lily was wearing a floral, dress that went all the way to her feet and covered her up more. _

_ "Sure," Brooke grunted. _

_ "Hey, that's where the drinks are! Want some alcohol," Lily asked innocently. That's what always confused Brooke about Lily; she was such a good girl, yet, at parties, she was a dirty girl who drank and had one night stands, which disgusted Brooke greatly, but she never said anything Lily. After all, she had imperfections. _

_ Brooke shook her head, heading over to the refrigerator to look for a soda, and surprisingly, she found a Dr. Pepper. The metal eyed girl smiled, pulling the drink from the cool container. She then turned to look for Lily but didn't find her any where nearby. The girl frowned and walked into the large living room and shook her head at the sight. She had found her brunette friend, but currently, she was shoving her tongue down some guy's throat. Brooke rolled her eyes, moving over to a secluded, quieter, dark corner, alone with her own thoughts as she sipped her soda. _

_ Brooke looked around, feeling awkward. She suddenly heard a loud commotion. The metal eyed girl set her drink down, only taking about five steps. She frowned, her eyebrows furrowing as she watched two drunken girls fighting; gripping onto each other's hair, screaming with a high pitch sound. Brooke snorted, turning back to her drink, and took a sip of it, frowning when she noticed that the Dr. Pepper tasted a little weird. _

_ What she didn't know, was that a certain brunette guy watched her, smiling; this was so going to be worth it. _

_ After about thirty minutes, in which during the whole time Brooke had been trying to get rid of a handsome man who really wanted in her pants per say, Brooke's stomach started to growl painfully. Her actions felt slurred and her sight was starting to get a bit flurry. She decided that she needed to lie down for a while. The pale bluish black haired girl walked upstairs, walking through the hallway, trying not to gag in disgust of the other people already getting it on. Brooke soon found a room that had the door wide open with no one inside. She sighed and walked in, closing the door behind her, lying on the bed, she sighed in relief when she felt her stomach feel a bit better. _

_ After a few minutes, Brooke decided she needed to leave before another decides they want to have some fun, and decided to intrude into her very room. Brooke tried to move to get up, but found she couldn't move her limbs. Her heart speed up with panic, her chest filling with air at a rapid pace. The door to her room suddenly opened up, and Brooke felt tears gathered up at the corners of her eyes. There stood at the door way, was Michael, and she knew it had been him who had done this._

**3****rd**** POV**

"- At the party, Lily had left me alone, and I hate alcohol so I just drank some soda. I left my drink alone for only a few seconds, but in those few seconds, someone had put this drug in my drink. I had no idea it was drugged, just that my drink tasted a bit funny. My stomach had started to hurt, my movements slowed, and my sight started to get blurred, so I went upstairs to lay down for a while. But, when I did, I stopped moving completely. It had been Michael who drugged me, and after that… he had raped me." Brooke said, she felt her heart quake painfully in her chest. Squid squeezed her form close to him, in order to try to comfort her and to control his anger. Currently, he wanted nothing more than to pound that man's face in, and from the gleam in Magnet's eye, he completely agreed.

"After he had taken me home, I passed out in the back yard, all from the pain. When I came to, my friend Ian had carried me inside. I… was in so much pain, I couldn't move without crying out in pain. Ian had taken care of me. And I called Lily as soon as possible, telling her everything that had happened before she went to school. Lily was so angry at Michael for everything he had done, and had promised she would come during the school's lunch time. When she did come, she had told me that Michael was telling everybody at our school that we had hooked up last night at the party, and the reason I wasn't at school was because we had done it some many times and both of us _had wanted more_ of each other. Lily of course stood up for me at school, telling everybody at school I was actually sick and that they never hooked up, she never told them about the rape knowing that I would never want them to know.

"After about three days, I was finally able to walk, but I was still sore; it hurt to walk. He… he actually thought we were going to date afterwards now that I had gotten a taste of what our relationship could be like. After that, I never felt more humiliated, so sickened. I wasn't going to let him get away with it… and with all my bottled up rage, I just… decided I was going to kill him.

"One night, there was this other party. I had bought a gun illegally, and dressed in clothes that completely covered my identity, wearing my hair in a bun, wearing gloves all the time and all the time I handled my gun. So when I went to the party, I sneakily turned up the music all the way so that the guns shoots and his screaming wouldn't be heard. When he had instantly seen my form, he was excited and already wanted to hook up since I had form _so much like _the girl he liked. So, we went up to an empty bedroom, and… I shot him in his stomach and once in each of his arms and legs. After that, I left and sold my gun to a local drug dealer. What I didn't expect, was that there was this cheerleader who had been flirting with Michael earlier and once she saw me leaving, she went up to find Michael… she was the one who found him and saved him. Michael wasn't going to press any charges against me, since I could press charges against him for rape (the reason I hadn't done it earlier was because I was humiliated about it), but his parents had done it instead. He never told them it was me, but someone said they had seen someone that looked like me at the party. And after that, evidence started to come in, and they charged me with attempt first degree murder; I tried to tell them about the rape as my motive, but nobody believed me… and since it had been days since it had happened, there was no evidence. They decided send me here after they looked into my past, and found I generally didn't get along with girls." Brooke finished her story, feeling so small. She never wanted to think about it, or tell anyone about it again. She expected Magnet and Squid to look at her lowly, but when she glanced up at their faces, she found a frozen face of rage on both of their faces; Magnet shocking her since he was usually care-free and happy.

"Brooke… you're not weak, and what Michael did to you… he deserved every bit of it, and I hope he had suffered. He should be the one here, not you," Squid said seriously, giving the girl in his arms a tight squeeze. Magnet nodded, agreeing with the southern boy. Brooke nodded after a couple seconds.

"You should get to bed, it's been a long day for you," Magnet suggested, giving her a wry, sad smile. Brooke nodded in agreement, her face now holding a stoic mask. The metal eyed girl got up to go to her cot, but was pulled down into Squids by none other than Squid himself.

She was going to ask why, but the brunette stopped her, putting a hand over her lips. "You're sleeping with me tonight, and before you get gross ideas in that thick skull of yours, it's just sleeping. I'm sure you don't want to be alone tonight." Brooke didn't even argue; he was right, and as much as she wanted to decline his offer, saying that was a strong girl, Brooke felt everything but strong, and she currently craved for comfort like children craved for candy.

The girl laid down, kicking off her shoes and not even bothering with her clothes. She put herself right on the edge of the cot, but was pulled near the middle by a pair of strong arms, ones that stayed around her. She felt Squid nuzzle his nose on the top of her head, but she didn't mind… in fact, she had to admit, it felt really nice.

**To be continued…**

_A/N: And here's a longer chapter! I hope you like, and so, now you know about how she had gotten arrested, but, you still don't know about her past and why she doesn't refer to her parents or family other than Uncle Chris. That will be a while… Anywho, I think you all can guess what the pairing is now. Yep, it's Brooke and Squid. Even though I tried to give her small moments with Magnet, I thought she was way better with Squid. But yeah, anywho, tell me what you think. Do you like Squid/Brooke? Or would you rather have her paired with someone else?_


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17: Can Never Forget**

**3****rd**** POV**

The next morning, Brooke woke up to find herself in another camper's cot, and in somebody's arms. She then remembered everything that happened last night, and inwardly chastised herself for being so weak. She reminded herself she was at a juvenile "camp" with a bunch of boys who were willing to jump at any opportunity to take advantage of her. After all, she reminded herself that she was the only girl here, except for maybe the warden who only a select few people, two of which being Mom and Mr. Sir, actually meeting them and knowing what gender they are.

The metal eyed girl moved to get up, but Squid's arms tightened their hold on her waist, causing her to blush for a brief moment before using her force to get out of his hold, not caring whether or not if he woke up. After all, the entire camp was waking up, so Brooke was sure the brunette boy was awake too, just playing opossum or something along those lines.

Coldly, and without sparing a glance behind her, the pale bluish black haired girl went over to her own cot, taking off her shirt and putting on her work one. She grabbed a brush and quickly pulled it through her ratty hair, then swiftly pulled it into her usual bun. And once she was finished, she left the tent, leaving behind the still half-asleep boys, and not even noticing the look she received from Squid.

Brooke walked out to the "Library," and grabbed herself a shovel, waiting to start the day which has already been tiresome to her. For once night terrors didn't plague her dreams like every night, which had been such a relief to her, but the events of yesterday took their turmoil on her, and Brooke held back a tired frown that desperately wanted to make it's way onto her facial features. Her mind kept replaying what had happened over and over like a record player, and Brooke blinked hard a couple times, trying to keep the tears from bursting out behind her wall. Whenever she told people about her past, she always found that she wanted to cry afterwards, and not because her past was too painful, which it was but that wasn't really reason; it was because she always regretted it. Sure she knew she didn't care about what other people thought of her, but it was the fact that she feared they would tell others, and then they would tell more people, and after that, a lot people would know of her weakness. After all, if it isn't a weakness, why hide it?

The girl then decided to take her mind off of the yesterday and look at the sky. It was cheesy and uncommon for someone to always stare at the sky, but if they were like Brooke, who was always somehow alone, and being with someone was a rarity, then it was quite common. Although she couldn't see the sun yet, she knew sooner or later the sun would peak its way out of the darkness of the night and the early morning. She would watch the light battle with the dark, and the light succeeding, but then, when the sun set, the battle would commence once more, and it was be an ongoing war; one of which neither side would win. She felt that was how life was; ongoing, there was no winning or losing, because in the end, everybody lost.

Brooke was jerked out of her thoughts when she heard piles of juvenile boys coming out from their tents, and staggering their way over to the shed filled with shovels like zombies. Like always, they stopped part way and took in the view of Brookes form, causing her to inwardly roll her eyes and shudder in disgust. But she kept her ever so emotionless mask on her face, not giving anything away. "Alright boys, time to get to work," Mr. Sir yelled, standing beside the library as the everybody went to get a shovel. Brooke noted that Mr. Sir didn't even stop to correct himself, but she didn't care, and she was sure Mr. Sir didn't care either.

She heard the other campers groan, and voice their complaints, probably still partially asleep. She looked to her side discreetly, watching as hands grabbed the disgusting breakfast, always consisting of a tortilla covered in honey, something that wouldn't be appetizing even if the tortilla wasn't on the verge of getting moldy and the honey actually tasting like honey instead of sweet, brownish slime with a tint of dust and dirt.

"Brooke, get something to eat," Squid scolded, walking up to the metal eyed girl. In one hand he held his shovel, the other one near his mouth with the so-called breakfast.

"I'm not hungry; I'm skipping breakfast," she said plainly, inwardly happy that he hasn't brought yesterday into their conversation.

"Eat. You're not skipping any meals," Squid stated rather coldly, slightly glaring to get his point across, but of course he knew by now it was futile; glaring did not affect her like it did with most of the other campers and every girl he has ever known, excluding Brooke.

"I believe you aren't in charge of me, besides, I can take care of myself just fine," she retorted, then noticed her mistake. Squid now knew of her secret, and when she said something like that to Ian, she remembered how he stated she obviously could not, and that the Michael incident was living and breathing proof.

"I know you can Brooke," he answered, his voice slightly a bit softer. "But I don't want you to end up in the hospital again. So even if I have to, I'll shove that tortilla down your throat, so you better eat it."

Brooke grumbled under her breath angrily, making her way over to the food stand. She turned to face Squid who stood in the same spot, grabbed the so-called breakfast, and in an unladylike fashion, she took a large bit of it, chewing and glaring at him at the same time, and forced herself to swallow. Squid smiled at her with triumph, which caused more dagger-like glares to be sent his way. She smiled at him sarcastically, her eyes narrowed, and her mouth filled more of her breakfast. Once she was finished, she felt like throwing up, but held back the urge, remembering that this wasn't nearly as disgusting as other foods she has had in the past.

Mr. Sir and Mom lead the campers out for another day of digging, with Brooke, like always, in the d-tent group. Once they got to a certain area, they started to dig, with the boys still slightly impressed of how easily she was able to do hard labor; easier than most of the boys who have been here longer.

**Brooke POV**

In all, the day was like most. It was hot outside, and we all sweated excessively and of course, drank and poured our jugs of water on ourselves to cool down. It reminded me I needed to take a shower soon. Most girls would've grossed out at the idea of not showering in three or four days, but I had become used to it, and it didn't bother me. What did bother me was the lingering feeling of grime from the dust and dirt. And even though I've went longer without showering, I knew the first I was going to do when I get back to camp was shower since that'll be the time when less boys are around.

After a while, we were called to lunch, and Mom started to pass out or usual daily lunch, and filled our canteens. I sat on the edge of my hole, taking a bite of sandwich even though I had no appetite whatsoever. I faintly notice Hector sat next to me, and inwardly smiled. I liked Hector a lot; he was like a little brother.

And like yesterday, the rest of the d-tent followed in suit, sitting on the rim of my hole. I noticed that Squid was watching me but tried to ignore it; I wasn't feeling up to another falling out, but of he pushed me, I was defiantly going to shove back. "Squid, stop staring at me. I'm eating," I spat out, taking a bit of my apple, and dramatically showing it to him to prove my point. Squid rolled him eyes.

"Yes I can see that you are eating and I wasn't staring," he lied, we both knew he lied, and I was pretty sure the whole d-tent knew he lied.

"Whatever," I answered, taking another bite of my apple. I discreetly glanced at him, and we caught each other's eyes. That's when I noticed the gleam in his. It was telling me we were going to talk, and I knew the only thing we really needed to talk about, was last night. I felt my stomach drop; I was hoping he would just forget it.

**To be continued…**

_A/N: Another chapter, hope you all enjoy!_


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18: Confessions Aren't Always About Sins**

**Warning: Not well written considering I've been dealing with writers block.**

**3****rd**** POV**

Brooke finished early that day, almost earlier than Hector, but not quite. This time, she went at super speed, wanting some sort of privacy for her to shower. She wasn't sure if she could be able to this for any more months, but it wasn't like she exactly had a choice.

Putting her shovel over her shoulder, the metal eyed girl staggered her way back to camp, more tired than usual from digging her hole as quick as possible. But even though she was tired, she had to admit, leaving there took off a bit of weight from her shoulders. Squid had been looking at her almost the entire time, and whenever they caught eyes, she was reminded that they were going to talk. And what didn't help her situation at all, whatsoever, was that Rattlesnake and his henchman Flare also stared at her. Flare was more for checking over her womanly curves while Rattlesnake preferred smirking at her, telling her he was waiting for her answer.

But now, she's at camp, and is probably going to be away from them for a few hours. Quickly grabbing a towel and a change of clothes, Brooke headed towards the shower stall made just for her, which she had never used before, that kind of made her nervous. After all, she wasn't entirely alone back at camp. There were some people who dug their hole early, or had the day off due to having other important jobs to do, but for the most part, Brooke was alone, and she was sure if she took a fast shower, she'll be fine.

Hurrying into the stall and locking it, she turned on the cold water, which she was grateful for from the outside heat. And then, lost herself underneath it, standing there and letting her mind wander. Before she knew it, the pale bluish black haired girl plopped in another token since she was basically rolling in the dough with them. And after token after token, her mind finally set onto reality when she heard the door to her stall jingle a bit; like someone was trying to break in. What she didn't know, was that for the past hour she had spent in the shower, some of the boys had been trying to break into her stall, or trying to take a peak over it, which was scientifically impossible due to height. She had spent so long in the shower, that almost the entire camp was back there, that defeated the purpose of finishing her hole earlier.

Brooke finally shut the shower off, slightly mad at herself for getting lost in though, and wiped the towel over her body in a neutral speed. Although she would hate it if someone would get in, she still had confidence in the lock not breaking any time soon, and even if someone did manage to peak over, she would already be clothed and it would be like all the other times they've seen her. When she finally finished dressing, she unlocked the door and opened, noting how there seemed to be more of a crowd around her stall despite everyone trying to act normal. Rolling her eyes, she continued her way to the tent, ignoring the usual cat-calls and wolf whistles that seemed to have increased due to her still slightly damp skin that her shirt clung to.

Once inside the sanctuary of her tent, she noted that the rest of the d-tenters were there as well, and looked up when she walked in. "And here I though you never shower chica," Magnet said cheekily, taking notice of her damp strange colored hair, and her figure showing more thoroughly from underneath her clothes. Brooke raised an eyebrow at his response, but didn't say anything, sitting herself down onto her cot and twisting her hair up into its usual messy bun which never really ever looked attractive but at least kept the strands from tickling her face.

"Well, we're heading to the Wreck Room, coming Brooke," X-ray asked, getting up from his spot.

"No."

"Alright, see ya. You coming Squid," he then asked, his observant eyes taking in the fact that Squid didn't do anything. He didn't get up with them, didn't move, just stared at Brooke with mixed emotions.

"Nah, I got to talk to the chick here," Squid answered, his brown orbs still trained onto her. Almost instantly, Brooke glared at him, and Squid retaliated with glaring back at her. After that, nobody said anything, the boys left quietly, and Zero left as well, wanting to give them some space.

"What is it Squid," she growled, all his worrying from the past couple days came back full force at her, and now, she was letting go all the built u[p tension she's been holding back.

"We need to talk about last night."

"There's nothing to talk about," she answered back, moving to leave the tent when the southerner suddenly grabbed her upper arm, forcing her to sit down next to him on his cot while she glared down at the hand that held her hostage.

"Yes there is. I ain't talking about what you told me and Magnet, I'm talking about the fact that you slept in my arms, that you _let _me hold you. You and I both know there's a bigger picture here." He answered back, gritting his teeth slightly in annoyance. The metal eyed girl didn't say anything back, just continued looking heatedly at him and waiting for him to continue. "Look Brooke, we fight all the time, and when you first got here, I believed I hated you. But you're different from the other girls. They usually back down and cower whenever I throw a fight their way, but you always push back, and always got something to say back to me. And then, when we kissed that one time, I thought maybe it was a spur of the moment, but I realize that I fucking like you Brooke! I don't wanna be your friend or you enemy. I want to kiss you, hold your hand, and keep the other guys away. I hate whenever Rattlesnake is around you, and most times, I hate the fact that you're even stuck here in the first place!" He finished, nearly yelling in the end.

Brooke froze, staring up at him; out of everything, she never expected him to say that, and she wasn't sure what to say back as her emotionless masked dropped from her features.

**To be continued…**

_A/N: I am so sorry this is late. I was dealing with a major writer's block which lasted almost an entire month! Please forgive me and sorry this chapter isn't very well written. _


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19: You Can Pretend, But Some See Reality Better**

**Brooke POV**

No matter how much I tried, I couldn't hold the tears back. But for some reason, it wasn't like all those other times I cried; no, I was crying because I was happy. Never once had I ever cried due to joy, it was always sadness, pain, and loss. I couldn't cope looking into his serious orbs anymore, and dropped my gaze to the ground, trying the grasp everything he had just told me. After a few moments to my thoughts, I felt Squid lightly grab a hold of my chin, pulling my gaze back onto his face. For once his features weren't covered with an mask of hate, anger, and threat, instead, they held sincerity, slight sadness, and it was pleading for my answer.

For once I was scared about something else. Usually I was scared about rejecting the guys, for what had happened when I rejected Michael, but this time, I was scared because I wanted to say yes. I wanted to tell Squid I felt the same way; that I wanted to be more than friends with him (if we were even friends in the first place) but I was terrified. I've never been in a relationship, never had someone there who wants to hold my hand, to kiss me, call me pet names, etc. Never once had I had any of that. But in way, I felt like I could trust Squid. I realized the whole time, I actually liked him. Even though I had been wary towards boys in general, and even though I don't trust people, never once had Squid, or any of the d-tent boys, given me a reason not to trust them.

"Yes," I spoke finally, and softly, biting my lip as I gingerly reached for his hand. "There is something here, I'm just…" I trailed off, gripping his hand more tightly. I felt him shift his hand so that our fingers were laced together, and then he pressed a soft kiss to my forehead. Right there was the breaking point, and for the second time this week, I cried.

"I know. We can take this slow if ya want," he answered, his voice surprising soft. Immediately, it hit me; Squid never acted like this, all bark and bite no sweetness, but the fact that he was here, asking me to be his, talking to me softly, offering to take things slow, meant that this is the first time he felt like this. That I was the first person he wanted to be with, like this anyway, and the thought made me inwardly smile. Yes, he's too good to let go.

"No, we can take things neutral. Squid, I want to be with you too," I answered shortly, licking my chapped lips before looking him right in the eyes. And what I saw back made my heart leap. Squid was looking at me with pure happiness.

And as fast as lightning, the southerner picked me up, exciting a surprised girly squeal and spun me around, chucking as he did so. Squid then dropped me back the ground, his arms staying in place around my waist. Then, I did something that shocked the heck out of Squid; I smiled softly at him. It was small, but my smiles are almost extinct by now, so it was good enough.

**3****rd**** POV**

All of d-tent sat at their designated table, wondering what was going on with Squid and Brooke (who they finally got a nickname for). They had all finished digging their holes later than normal, and once they had gotten to the tent, they almost instantly left so that the two can work out, what they believed to be, their sexual tension. Since then, they haven't seen them, and they were waiting for them anxiously in the cafeteria. Magnet and X-ray bet that the two were now going to work it out and be a couple while Armpit said they were only going to fight more and Zigzag said that she was going to mind control Squid to be her zombie soldier. Like always, Zero stayed mute, but inwardly, he guessed the same as Magnet and X-ray.

Almost on cue, the metal eyed girl and the southern boy walked into the room, and boy was that a sight. The group of boys exchanged mischievous smiles, noting how the couple looked. Brooke looked normal, her stoic mask in place, and just how she looked every day, except for the fact that she was standing very close to Squid; more than normal. Squid on the other hand, wasn't hiding it as well as her. He stared down at her, with a very loving look, a slight smile curved at the corners of his lips, but was hard to tell due to the toothpick hanging from his mouth. He also stood closely to the girl, his hands itching to grab onto her free, dangling hand; looking like a piece of bait. And they noticed how he stuffed his hands into his pockets, trying to keep from letting the urges in.

Magnet and X-ray looked over at the over two, victory shining in their eyes.

Finally, the duo sat down, oblivious to their fellow camper's stares, and started eating, not saying a word. However, they did sit very close to each other; almost too close. Truthfully, Magnet would be lying if he said he didn't feel a zap of jealousy, but he pushed away, deciding to confront them. "So, work out your sexual frustration," he joked, followed by a laugh and a fist pump by X-ray. Brooke scoffed, rolling her eyes before menacingly glaring at the boys. Squid glared at them too, biting on his toothpick hard, even though he was suppressing a smile.

"Yeah, right," they said at the same time, causing them to glare at one another. Magnet bit his lip, trying to keep from laughing. No matter how much they play the tough act, everyone knew, even Zigzag and Armpit, that they had gotten together; finally.

Unbeknownst to them, a certain someone watched the group, and he knew too. He had lost Brooke to Squid, and it pissed him off greatly. He actually liked her, not looking for some ass since everyone here has been away from the opposite gender; she was different kind of girl, and he wanted her. He had hoped she would've accepted his offer, but from the looks of it, she'll come up to him and reject him. But of course he wasn't going to let that happen. Rattlesnake lost to nobody.

**To be continued…**


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20: Nothing Stays Perfect Forever**

**Flashback**

_The small girl sat on the plastic bench, watching as all the other children played around her on the playground. She honestly didn't mind, she liked it this way. Brooke had always been pointed out to be strange since the moment she had gotten to this school. Her funky hair being a pale bluish black color and her eyes so grey and shiny, they looked like metal. She, unlike the other children, hadn't been "gifted" with blonde, brown, or regular black straight locks, or been given eye colors that were actually a part of the rainbow. No, she looked different, and if that wasn't enough to deter you, she acted different._

_ Every time the kids were let out for recess she simply just sat on a bench, either watching the others play mindlessly and dramatically, or she found solace in a book that was much above her grade reading level. She liked it that way, finding it hard, uncomfortable, and almost physically and emotionally painful to try and talk to the others. Brooke had always been much more mature than them, wondering why they played with Barbie's or plastic cars when they could read an exciting book, or actually spend time with their family rather than closing them off so that they could "play." But Brooke was never one to tell someone off at the time, and let them do their stuff, while she did her own. _

_ At first, some students tried to befriend her, for the mysterious aura around her compelled them near, but they quickly found out just how much this little and supposedly innocent girl was closed off and detached from society. They tried striking up conversations, but were always met with short and hard to carry on answers and a bored look plastered on her face. _

_ Even some of the boys, who weren't afraid of cooties, tried to talk to her, finding her pretty and hoping for the possibility of a girlfriend, however, they soon figured out how much of feat that would be. _

_ In the end, they wondered curiously from a far, and didn't bug her, as long as she kept to her own business. _

_ It had only been a month after she came to this school that the students soon started to fear her. A common bully tried picking her one time; it was at lunch time, and the teachers decided to let their students eat on the playground for a change. _

_ As always, the metal eyed girl ate her lunch, alone, and secluded. And in her lunch box, was a note she received from her mother every day. It was always a note reminding her how much she loved her, and that was always the highlight of Brooke's rather dreary day. But on this certain day, when she pulled out her note, the common bully came over, and snatched it out of her fair skinned hands. _

_ "Oh look, she got a note from her mommy. How weak," he sneered, staring down at Brooke while she glared up at him. He lifted the note so high, Brooke had troubles reaching in, but the second he ripped the note to shreds before she could read the message, Brooke slammed her dainty yet strong fist into his gut, causing the boy to bend over in pain. She then took the opportunity to slam her foot into his groin, causing him to clutch himself as he fell to the ground. _

_ Without blinking an eye, Brooke grabbed the remainder of the shards and strutted away, grabbing her lunch box as well. After that, Brooke had gotten in major trouble by the principle, her parents understood completely; Brooke loved her parents more than anything in the entire world, she would defend them at all costs. _

_ And that was the moment no one dared to go near "Brooke the Beast." _

_ However, her solace and personal bubble she had taken so long to make soon came crashing down the second they had gotten a new kid. His name was Ian. His hair was such a dark brown it could almost be considered black, accompanied with just as dark eyes. He had olive skin, and a very kind smile, which was sure to make most of the girls in the room to coo over him. _

_ The strange this was, was that he didn't look at anybody, he didn't eye a pretty, popular brunette like some of the good looking boys did. No, his eyes went straight to Brookes own stoic ones, and what nobody knew, was that his heart stuttered. Ian couldn't keep his eyes off of her, much to her annoyance for she could feel his eyes burning into her being. So after he took a desk next to hers and sent her a smile which would've melt other girl's hearts in a beat, Brooke glared at him, her eyes full of malice before she turned to her earlier doing; which was reading a book instead of listening to a teacher. _

_ Ian couldn't help but wince from her cold behavior but he wasn't about to stop now. Her reaction to him was her more interesting, and he felt himself being compelled towards her, much like the other students before they gave her the nickname "Brooke the Beast." But the moment free time came, Ian noticed how all the other students moved towards their friends, but all Brooke did was stay put, opening her book and reading it once more. That was the moment when he finally decided to man up and talk to this emotion lacking girl._

_ "Hi, I'm Ian; what's your name," he asked kindly, sticking out his hand like how the adults do it._

_ Instead of her answering kindly back and shaking his hand, she just continued to stare at the words in her book, not once taking her eyes off of them. "I'm Brooke," she answered simply, flipping a page. The boy in response slightly faltered, frowning at her. He then noticed a group of students approaching him and instantly got up. He figured Brooke didn't like company, and she would be annoyed if this group started talking around her just because of him. Instead, he directed the group elsewhere, and they started talking. _

_ Soon, the conversation turned towards Brooke. "I saw you talking to Brooke the Beast," a girl in pigtails commented. _

_ The nickname set Ian off in a way, and he suddenly found an urge to protect her. "Why do you call her that?" he asked innocently._

_ "She fought off this one guy. It was pretty bad," a black haired boy said next, rubbing the back of his neck. _

_ "Nobody talks to her; she's really freaky and scary. My momma told me her parents are the same way," the pigtailed girl jumped in. _

_ "She can't be so bad," Ian defended lightly, slightly understanding why the others were wary of her. She wasn't the easiest person to talk to, and she seemed really antisocial. Ian though had always been one to befriend the misfits/outcasts, and Brooke was no different. _

_ Only later that day did Ian confront her again. _

_ This time Brooke was in her usual spot; a bench on the side of the playground. Instead, this time, she had taken to watching the children play since she had already finished reading her book. The metal eyed girl couldn't help but feel more annoyed with this day more than usual. It all had to do with the new boy who acted as if the two had been friends for years. He was irritating, and she was really starting to get agitated with him. He should know better know that he had been hanging with the popular kids that she was one to be left alone, just like how she left them alone. But this boy didn't seem to give up easily, so, in the end, Brooke hoped he would leave her alone. After the first fight she didn't want to fight again, but she still had to keep a reputation up; he needed to learn to leave "The Beast" alone. _

_ But her hoping was futile for Ian made his way over to her quickly, and sat down on the bench with her at a rather close place. "Why do you sit alone," he asked._

_ "It's none of your business so leave me alone," Brooke snapped. Her mother had always warned her about her short temper, and he was pushing the boundary lines._

_ He sighed. "Look, I just want to be your friend," he said sincerely. However, he didn't deter her one bit. A lot of people had wanted to be her friend or even more at some point, but she didn't want friends. They were too much trouble than their worth._

_ "I don't want a friend," she answered smoothly and coldly. _

_ "You may not want a friend, but everyone needs one."_

_ "I don't need a friend either. I am perfectly fine by myself," she gritted out. _

_ "Too bad, you're stuck with me now," Ian smiled at her, knowing he won. No matter what she did, he wasn't going to give up. He was just as stubborn as her. _

_ Brooke pursed her lips, her nose curling up with a snarl; she reminded herself she didn't want to cause any more trouble for her family, and resolved with a final sentence. "Fine, but just shut up and we'll be fine." _

_ Although the situation was strange and unusual, it was a major turning point for Brooke. Nobody had ever gotten into her own world, her parents and Uncle Chris being the only exception, and at this moment, her world had finally opened up to another person. He was the first person to that wasn't her family that tried hard for her, that didn't let her get away so easily or let her words hurt him. Ian was the first person to enter her world wasn't already there before._

_ That was until the fateful day she met Lily, and the even more influential day she was sent to Camp Greenlake._

**To be continued…**

_A/N: So there's some past revelation. Thank you for reviewing/following/favorite. I'll answer some reviews now!_

_To CurlyNerdy101__: Yeah that's kind of how I felt writing it, lol._

_To Guest(1):__ Yeah Squid is, but only on the inside. And well, of course Rattlesnake isn't going to give up soon… _

_To Guest(2):__ Haha right? We all should fall in love with a Squid although it might get annoying with his stubbornness after a while lol._

_To X Blue Eyed Demon X__: Haha thanks I love that you're enjoying my story!_

_To PurpleBubble14__: So this is to all three of your awesome reviews. Yeah I was going for a bit of Brooke/Magnet, but the end result being Brooke/Squid since they clash together awesomely. And about the Stanley thing yes he will appear in the story, but this story is going to be a lonnggg one so we still have yet to meet Barfbag (Lewis) and then we'll meet Stanley, but not quite yet, sorry. Stanley will probably end up blushing or acting bashful with Brooke around, knowing him. _


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21: Chaos Brews after Peace Comes**

**3****rd**** POV**

For once in a long time Brooke felt a strong urge to smile. This urge being so strong it had caused the corners of her lips to rise up a little, and her eyes dance with happiness.

Currently another day had passed, and of course, the day had been long, tiring, hot, and energy consuming. But in the end, her and Squid managed to sneak in some alone time. Right at this moment the two laid on his cot, Brooke snuggled up in his side while his arm curled around her.

And if Squid was to be truthful as well he would say he was at his happiest right now.

This was another thing they had in common: sad backgrounds. The two had troubles remembering a time when they had been happy, and in their past their life had been filled with mostly downs and rarely ever ups. But no matter how tough the two were, they didn't like talking about it because of the emotional hurt that came with it, not because they wanted to keep up the illusion that they were tough people who didn't need someone pitying them or sympathizing with them.

At this moment, none of it mattered. For once they weren't yelling at each other, or fighting; they were just together, lying in a comfortable silence.

If Squid was once again to be honest with himself he would say he was slightly nervous. He had never actually dated a girl more like had hook ups which usually just involved making out and some groping along with it. But he was not going to treat Brooke like he had treated the others: like trash. No he was going to take care of her, treat her like she's the only important person in world, which to him, she was. He wasn't going to treat her like Michael had treated her.

The simple thought of Michael infuriated him to no end. He wanted to chop off the hands that touched her body, he wanted to gouge out the eyes that saw her naked form without consent, he wanted to cut off the tongue that whispered disgusting putrid words to her, and so on. Squid wasn't a killer, he was in Greenlake for a whole different reason, but he was sure that if he ever met the man he wouldn't be able to hold himself back from killing him; destroying the man who haunted her dreams.

For second, Squid was worried about touching her, knowing that some girls who experienced sexual assault not nearly as bad as Brooke's tended to have troubles with touching but when she allowed him to hold her hand this morning and even rest her head on his shoulder he was reminded once again that this was Brooke he was talking about; the strong girl who could beat the shit out of you for just eying her a moment too long.

Turning his focus back on her, and smile crossed his lips, causing his toothpick to lightly poke him in the cheek. The southerner then took his toothpick out of his mouth, throwing the used one away and pressed a kiss to the side of her head, struggling to contain a chuckle when he saw how sleepy her eyes got. "Hmm," she hummed, turning her body onto her side to snuggle more into him.

"Squid," she asked hesitantly, gingerly draping an arm over his chest. She would be lying if she said she didn't feel a bit awkward with the whole boyfriend and girlfriend thing.

"Yeah," he drawled, his jaw itching for another toothpick. The main reason he always had one in his mouth was because of a habit. Before he had come to Camp Greenlake Squid had a smoking habit, addicted to cigarettes, and since he came here obviously he's not allowed to have them here anymore. At first he had been inwardly panicky and had caused more fights than any other guy because the lack of nicotine caused him to be more on edge which gave him the appearance of being tough to the other guys, showing them exactly what he's capable of.

X-ray must've soon picked up on it, and so he mentioned that some of the boys here who used to smoke stick toothpick's in their mouth so that they could at least have the feeling of something in their mouth like they're used to. And like that Squid constantly had one in his mouth which did give him some relief.

The metal eyed girl then spoke up again, pulling him away from his thoughts. "Well… I can't remember your names when Mom told me. What's your real name," she asked, slightly embarrassed to ask such a thing. She wanted to berate herself for acting so shyly, for acting awkward, for being like this in general, but instead, she couldn't help it, and for some reason, she felt as if she could act like this when he was around. To be bashful, to be act awkward, to be sweet, like he wouldn't judge her for not being "Brooke the Beast" and instead being "Brooke the Sweet."

In return the brunette smirked slightly at her bashfulness, while she pursed her chapped lips, glaring playfully at him. "It's alright," he grinned, using his free hand to cup her face. "My name is Alan, and you can call me that but only when we're alone, okay?" he stated, caressing her cheek. In response, Brooke nodded, kissing the palm of his hand as she settled back down. But the metal eyed girl didn't get far before Squid swooped in for a kiss, his tongue soon running over her lip for entrance, which she granted him, the two of them each exploring the other's mouths.

They both couldn't believe they had gotten this lucky.

**3****rd**** POV, Somewhere Else**

"Does the defendant plead guilty," the judge asked, his eyes narrowing onto the boy before him. Inwardly the judge was berating himself, hating himself. He had locked up that one girl only for her accusations to be right all along. And this boy in front of him was living proof. The boy should be feeling guilty, begging for forgiveness, but instead, he looked smug. He had gotten away with it, and everyone in this court knew it.

They all knew they had let him slip from their finger tips, all because he spoke a few good lies and he was off the hook while the girl was sent away from the aftermath of his terror. If only they had believed her, if someone had believed her other than her good child hood friend, and only one of her last good family member, but instead no one did. She was the town outcast, the town misfit, the one who spoke little and when she did she was threatening. Everyone saw it coming when she was arrested, assuming her hard as stones personality and her violent outburst of fights would soon end up her trying or even taking another's life away.

However, nobody saw what the actual truth was, that was until a witness finally spoke up, and like that the truth was brought out into the light.

"Guilty, your honor," the boy continued, his eyes showing just how wrong the boy truly was; the so-called star boy of the town. The balding judge knew it, and he was sure everyone else in the court room knew it too, save for his mother who still believe he's a little angel. They knew that he had no regrets of what he did, in fact, he looked like he didn't believe what he did was wrong. It was almost sickening to them to believe they had trusted this man's word over another, who turned out to be a victimized girl with a troubled past and a non-stable living environment.

The judge ignored the parents as the mother sobbed loudly and annoyingly while the boy's father simply glared at his son; unlike the mother, he wasn't blind. He knew his son was a monster in the end, and he wasn't going to comfort his wife as long as she still believed in her son being the greatest person ever. Despite all the love the man felt for his wife, which was shown crystal clear on the news reports and in his eyes at this moment, he didn't want to comfort the woman over crying for her monstrous son going to juvy.

"Michael Lambridge, you are hereby sentenced to Camp Greenlake. Your lawyer will inform you of how long your sentence is. Court dismissed," the judge called, feeling guilt twine in his stomach. He hated it, for he knew boy was well aware of the plead deal: pleads innocent and proven guilty, he'll be tried as an adult and sent to prison. But if he pleads guilty then he's sent to Camp Greenlake, and there resides Brooke, the woman he raped multiple times, the woman he wronged and inwardly scarred for life. No, the judge didn't like this at all but there was nothing he can do about it, what's done has been done.

**To be continued…**

_A/N: Yep so there you have it, CurlyNerdy, your thought did come true, even though I had planned it all along. I am sorry about it, but I did give you a bit of romance before more drama came. There were so many reviews! Thank you guys, and thank you for favorite/following!_

_To LolUrNotDylanObrien: I am glad you're enjoying it!_

_To Guest (1): Thank you I hope you aren't too angry about the ending of this chapter._

_To sarahmichellegellarfan1: Thank you for all the reviews! And yes this is before Stanley comes here and even before Barfbag comes, which he will some soon. _

_To Guest (2): Thank you so much! _


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22: Peace Can Never Always Stay Peaceful **

**3****rd**** POV**

It had been another long day of working out in the desert, the sweat running down their forms and their chest's feeling constricted mostly from the lack of moisture in the air as well as dehydration. And as always, it was in general another day filled with torture which they had been forced to endure due to the government. However, all these boys and Brooke were, were juvenile delinquents, nobody cared about how they were treated, or how ever day their manual labor felt like slavery.

But even as the day's were long, it no longer mattered for Brooke, and Squid too for that matter. Recently, she had been feeling better, even with just dating Squid for a while now, maybe a week or two at the most. Her night terrors still stood in place, but she found very early in morning, the brunette waking her, telling her it was just nightmare, and after that, he who crawl into her bed, without any lecherous thoughts which was a relief to Brooke, holding her as she tried into the deep dark abyss. It was hard for the metal eyed girl at first, used to staying up after her dreams haunted her, so Squid would then kiss her forehead and other parts of her face, causing her to relax, and finally drift asleep. She didn't realize at first about how much of a comfort those simple actions were, especially for a girl who had been known to be so mean that nobody would even go within five feet of her, much less, give her any kind of comfort, physical or verbal.

Of course after she had fallen asleep peacefully, which rarely happened, the southerner went back to his own cot, trying to get some z's while worrying about her. He knew he liked Brooke before, and during her stay here she had been consuming his thoughts, but he had assumed maybe afterwards his thoughts wouldn't be as consumed, but just dating her now he seemed to always be thinking about her and her well being.

Now, Brooke was ready for another shower, her clothes sticking to her form in an uncomfortable way that she was almost itchy. She had purposely finished her hole as soon as possible, which was only a few minutes after Zero, and left, once more ignoring the cat-calls sent her way, which increased when they noticed her shirt sticking to her skin, and her form giving little to the imagination. She couldn't help but inwardly curse at Mr. Sir as well as the warden of this camp and the government for giving her a white shirt, and a black bra…

Brooke had learned to ignore them after a while, it was daily, and they just didn't get bored of making suggestive remarks about her while checking out her figure. Which sadly appealed to most of the guys at the camp even if they hadn't been secluded from women for many months, or possibly even a year or two. It especially turned on a certain tattooed boy, who has yet to have given up on his mission on making Brooke his; before he had just been flirting with her, needing a release from the deprivation he had experienced form being at the camp, but then the way she acted towards him, how she acted in general, he knew he needed her. He had never seen a girl with such a deadly intent on her face, and act cold to everyone around her; it was clear she wasn't in here for funny business. But of course Brooke hated Rattlesnake now.

Grabbing her extra clothes and a towel, Brooke headed over to the shower stalls, pushing away her earlier thoughts of Rattlesnake, her heart lurching in her chest when she remembered something else. She remembered the last time she had taken a shower, and she had been so lost in her thoughts that nearly every person had gotten back in camp, yet, at the same time, she knew she had to do this. Even if the pale bluish black haired girl could go days without washing, today had been its worst being the most hottest day of the days she spent at camp, and all of the d-tent boys had agreed with her, even Squid had taken his hat off a couple times just because his head was getting too hot under the cover, and eventually he spit out his toothpick on the ground, grumbling something about how it was bothering him.

Quickly, she leaped into the shower, and washed as fast as she could, the dryed her body and got dressed, staring at the door with slight fear; she had been very conservative of her body since the day of the incident. She then made her way over to the tent, pulling her wet hair into her signature donut bun, not liking the feel of wet hair drying against her face. Suddenly she stopped in her tracks, her stomach churning painfully, almost like she was sick with the flu. Brooke wasn't sure what was wrong, but she did know that know she felt sick, like at any random moment she was going to bend over and vomit onto the dirt covered ground. She thought maybe for a second it was because the lecherous looks had finally gotten to her, but she knew it couldn't have been that; she had gotten used to the leering looks which before would've put her off.

Shaking her head, she instead made her way to her cot, nodding at Zero in acknowledgement who lay in his own cot like always. She sat down, looking directly at the place which once held Benny on it. Benny recently had gone AWOL but Brooke didn't mind, he was an animal after all, and he went where he wanted, she just hoped that Mr. Sir wouldn't find him.

Soon after Zero left, and then Squid can in not long after, and although he was expecting his now girlfriend alone, maybe sleeping, he felt like he had been punched in the chest. The look on her face wasn't a good one; she looked very pale, and almost green, there was definitely something wrong. "Brooke," he asked, seating himself onto her bed, sitting her up.

"Yeah Alan," she asked, looking over at him. Her voice sounded weaker as well, like she had just gotten up from a nice long nap, yet he knew that wasn't true; she never took naps, ever.

"You look sick," he stated, running a hand down her back soothingly. Instantly, Brooke relaxed and almost purred like a cat; his hand was considerably cold compared to his own warm body.

"I feel a bit hot, stomachs fuzzy, but I think it might just be from the heat," Brooke answered, not wanting to lie to him; if it had been the other way, and Squid had been feeling hot, she too would want him to tell her.

"I think you should lay down, I'll go get some water. Damn, today was hot thought, hotter than usual; it wouldn't surprise me if you're getting a little sick from it," he then said, helping her lay back down, and even though she felt like arguing, she didn't, knowing there was nothing she could do to change his mind. The southerner then left the tent, going over to the water to get some from Brooke. He felt his worries rise up to a dangerous level, and he almost worried that once he got back she would look like the time he found her in the hole; that mental image still shock some panic in his heart at times.

Fortunately, when he came back she was still fine, lying on her back waiting for Squid's return. "Here, drink," he stated, tilting her head up some so that she could swallow down the water, and even though his actions made her feel weak, she still found comfort in them, like when he held her after she had told him why she had attempted to kill Michael, and every time he had woke her up, comforting her after every dream taunted her with her past, and scarred at her heart like a whip. She still had yet to tell him of her parents, but she felt like they were still too early in the relationship to say such things, for Squid too had yet to tell her of his Mom; all she knew about the said woman was that whatever had conversed between the two made Squid dislike her greatly.

"C'mon, drink more; I'm not lettin' you get sick," Squid stated stubbornly.

"I'm fine," the metal eyed girl answered.

"No, drink some more; I ain't goin' to stop trying," he then answered, clearly stating he was not going to take no for an answer, and Brooke knew that too. He was just like her, just as stubborn as her.

She sighed. "Fine," she growled out, taking in a couple more gulps, glaring at Squid when he smiled smugly at her, his eyes shining knowing that he had won.

He then set the water jug to side, and slipped right into her side, pulling her so that they were both on their sides, his arms wrapped around her waist, holding her closely to his chest. "Let's get some rest," Squid muttered, rubbing the back of her neck in a soothing manner. He had no idea of the misery's that were going to come for her.

**To be continued…**

_A/N: yes I know this chapter is super late! Please forgive me!_

_To Guest (1):__ I'm sorry, well actually I'm not completely, but this is actually necessary to happen, and I'll explain why later on. _

_To Guest (2)__: *Flinches* sorry._

_To sarahmichellegellarfan1__: Thank you!_

_To X Blue Eyed Demon X__: Thank you!_

_To CurlyNerdy101__: I'm sorry, but you know I think that internally you had a feeling this would happen, soooo… Sorry, well, not completely, I'll explain majorly why I did this later but all you have to know is that this has to happen. _

_To mercenary2.0__: I'm sorry, but this ahd to happen, and like I told the others, I'll explain later, but even though she was getting better, she still can't get over it can she?_

_To RougeReaper__: Thank you, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter. _

_To Guest (3): __Haha right?! Knowing Squid he would totally punch that sucker in the face, along with Flare and Rattlesnake._

_To FireTheCannon (Guest):__ Thank you very very much, I very much appreciate that!_

_To Guest (4)__: Here you go, sorry for the very long wait. _


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23: The Pain Never Goes Away**

**3****rd**** POV**

Another couple days passed, the same as usual, though the days felt as if they were getting hotter and hotter, and from that, Brooke felt herself feeling more sick than usual. It wasn't unknown to her that her body was fragile in a sickly sense of way; when she was younger and even as she grew older, the girl had always been a sickly child. There was even one time where a boy had faked cough on her arm, obviously in a joking way, and she ended up with a cold for an entire week. The simplest of things like wearing a light coat in weather that was way too cold for that would end causing her to become ill for weeks.

However, the girl found it to be more of a pain to deal with now a day, especially since she now had Squid, who was constantly hovering over her like a mother hen. Ordering her to lay down whenever her feet just _skidded_ a little thinking she was dizzy or nauseous, and was forcing her to drink so much water she felt like she was going to a hole for a bathroom break _every five minutes_.

Unexpectedly, she never once peeped a word, something that was totally out of character for her, and shocked the other tent mates at times for they ken her as hard-as-nails Brooke who didn't take any sympathy from anybody. However, they soon found out that the reason why Brooke snapped at Squid only on a couple occasions, was because she was actually really drained from both the long days stuck working in the heat and from feeling sick nearly all the time. It seemed once she was done digging she was instantly heading over to the cot that her and the southerner boy now shared, and just took naps most of the time, cuddled against the chest of the brunette boy as he chewed on the toothpick, not at all minding the fact that he could be out playing pool with the boys than lying her with nothing to do but stare at the _his girl_ snuggled into his side.

And truthfully, even if he did leave, Squid would just end up spending most of the time worrying about the girl. That was just how attached her was to the girl with pale bluish black hair and the metal eyes.

Today ended up being no different than the other days, or at least, at first it did.

As Brooke got back to camp she headed straight over to d-tent as usual, trying to appear strong when really she was at her limit. Her legs felt like jello, and it was hard to keep them from wobbling with each step, while her mind remained fuzzy, unable to think of anything whatsoever except static snow.

Brooke ran one of her calloused hands through her now greasy hair, sighing tiredly as she tried with all her might to keep her eyes open; to keep awake. But she was finding it harder and harder to do as the minutes passed by.

The girl heard a voice sound out from nearby, one consisting of a male tone of course, and instantly perked up when she was reminded where she was; about how she was at a disadvantage showing her weak side.

Lifting her eyes from the ground, she glared at a random boy who sent a wolf whistle her way, gripping the handle of the shovel tighter, feeling a violent urge the smack the boy right in the face.

_Don't do it Brooke, good behavior remember, _she reminded herself, forcing herself to lax her once clenched jaw, shoulders unwinding from their ready-to-fight stance. On most days Brooke would've glared at some boys, but mostly she just ignored them all, finding this entire camp filled with idiots but because of the fact that she had was at a weary point, her body entirely exhausted and with no hours of sleep helping, she was more snappy than usual. Sometimes, she even look like the devil himself, or at least, that's what some say; the ones who were actually smart enough to not try and make contact with the metal eyed girl.

"Hey baby, don't see ya' Squid around huh. Why don't you give me some company over here, gettin' awfully lonely over here, all by myself," the same boy still spoke out, sending another wolf whistle followed by a wink, a cocky smirk residing on his lips.

And like expected, Brooke snapped back. "Shut up before I shove your testicles down your throat," she said with a sneer, her orbs shooting daggers at the naïve boy. If looks could kill he would be six feet underground by now.

"Aw honey, don' haffa play hard to get," the foolish boy continued, placing his arms behind his head, his lecherous eyes trailing over the girls exposed form, drinking up everything he could swallow. It didn't help that the days got so hot Brooke had to tie the upper half of her suit around her waist, and the fact that she ended up sweating so much the _white_ shirt stuck to her body. And what was even sadder was the fact that they only allowed her to have one bra, which just had to be black. Sometimes Brooke wondered if the people who had decided the punishment for her crime just wanted to use her as entertainment for the boys at the camp, that was how ridiculous she saw the situation.

Strolling right up to boy, inwardly smirking as she watched the boys grin get bigger and bigger, thinking that she was actually giving in, Brooke grabbed him by the front of his shirt. Ultimately lifting him from his spot in his chair, she brought her face real close to his, baring her teeth angrily. "Look here fuck boy, dare to make one more move and I'll make good of my threat, don't deny that. I'll crawl into that tent of yours while you sleep all peacefully, and rip off your testicles like I promised, and choke you with them till your heart stops... That or you can leave me the fuck alone, I'm not in the mood to listen to that putrid thing you consider flirting to be," she growled into his ear, and shoving him back into his chair and watching as his eyes widened dramatically, a tint of fear residing in them.

Rolling her metal orbs, she walked away, nearly groaning when she caught sight of a familiar man approaching, being none other than Mom as most call him, and beside him, and unfamiliar boy with blonde hair and a terrified look on his face, causing the delinquents nearby to snicker at him. The boy really was shark bait here.

"What is it Mom," she asked once he was right in front of her, watching as he put on the feigned smile he always wore, placing his hand on the shoulder of the boy next to him.

"This here is Louis, our newest member of Camp Greenlake. Louis, this here is Brooke; since you both are in d-tent, I thought I would ask you to show him the ropes Brooke, make him feel welcomed," Mom answered back, pushing the nervous boy a little in front of him. The girl in return watched as the boy stuttered back at her, his face becoming flushed (though Brooke didn't realize the boy was actually blushing at the sight of her).

After a pregnant pause of just Brooke staring blankly at Louis, while the boy glanced nervously back and around, fiddling with his fingers, she finally answered though it held no words or comfort.

Scoffing, Brooke turned away from them both and strutted away, leaving the two in the dust as she headed towards the tent, not in the mood to deal with the newbie or anyone else for that matter.

"I thought they said it was a all boy's camp," Louis spoke up after he found his voice, appearing confused.

"It is, however, Brooke is a special case and is here for certain reasons. She was sent here as the first ever girl camper, though just because she's a girl doesn't mean we give her any special treatment; she still digs her hole like everybody else, and is treated like everyone else. The one thing she has that's different is that she's the only one who can use fully built shower stall over there, compared to the other ones the boys use that allow a person to see the upper half of you." Mom explained, giving him a fake comforting grin as he patted the boy shoulder.

"Don't worry now, she may be hard around the edges and likes to think she's tough, but she's a softie on the inside. She'll come around eventually." He continued, able to say such things without the girl in ear shot, for he was smarter than that. If Brooke ever heard him saying such words she may just bit him to a pulp, something he was sure she wouldn't regret doing. If there was one thing Mom noticed about Brooke, was she doesn't really regret anything. She didn't seem to care at all about the fact that she had nearly killed the boy; that there almost had been a forever splatter of blood on her hands.

"C'mon, let's introduce you to your new tent mates," Mom suggested, heading over to the place where Brooke had disappeared into.

"What about the other boy who arrived with me, Micah or something like that," Louis asked, rubbing the back of his neck in thought. The teenager he had arrived with, for he also was condemned to this dry, wasteland, hadn't spoke a word the entire ride, staring up ahead with a blank look, though after staring for hours, Louis eventually realized that there was a slightly smug gleam in his eyes, looking as if he was _excited_ to be here. However, Louis didn't try to talk to him once, especially since he was just a scrawny, scared boy, while the other guy was buff and bulky man, most likely a football player. The only reason why the blonde sort of knew his name was because he heard Mr. Sir say it out loud, though he only caught snippets for he had started to day dream as if to tear away the place that would torture him for months on straight.

"Ah, he will be placed in tent-a for now, however, he might be transferred over to tent-d because tent-a is pretty filled up now. His trial was unexpected and was quickly over with the amount of evidence piled on it, so we didn't have time to make any preparations for him," Mom explained.

"Here we are, come up and meet your new tent mate everyone," the older man stated, the entire d-tent present, watching the boy with guarded and distrusting eyes. Armpit and Magnet sat over in a corner, playing their cards, while Zig-zag and X-ray just laid in their cots with bored expressions on their faces, and finally, Brook and Squid sat together on Squids cot, sitting suspiciously close to one another in an obvious manner. And from the way they sat, the rest of d-tent could see that Squid actually had his hand on her lower back, the two whispering to each other secretly, however, that was out of eyeshot for the older man.

"Ay Mom, who's the toothpick," X-ray asked lazily, nodding his heads towards the nervous boy, inwardly knowing the boy wasn't going to last a week here, in fact, he looked as if he was about to pee his pants right then and there.

"Now Rex, be nice okay? This here is Louis, and he's new, please give him a warm welcome."

"Hey toothpick," X-ray said again, ignoring Mom's earlier words. "The name isn't Rex, got it? It's X-ray. That Armpit, Squid, Magnet, Zig-zag, _Beast_, and Zero, got it?" he stated more than asked, pointing to each one of them, deciding it was finally time for Brooke to be introduced to her new nickname. In honest, they had figured out a nickname for her a long while ago, but had held off saying it till now; the girl was warming up to them just of late, becoming more and more a part of the group, talking way more than she had before. He had to let her know that she was officially a part of them.

And though nothing was exposed on her dull, expressionless face, X-ray could see a little glimmer of joy and content, realizing the true meaning of why she was given a nickname. However, he didn't know that internally, she was also freezing up as bad memories resurfaced, for the same exact name she was given at one point in her life.

"They all have their nicknames but I prefer the names they were given, the names they'll be recognized for. Anyways, I'll just leave you here. Brooke will show you around, like I stated before; you can do that, right Brooke," Mom asked almost sarcastically, trying to hold in the flinch as the girl scowled at him, glaring daggers his way.

"I'm not a babysitter," she gritted out, her metal embedded eyes narrowing at the man in front of her.

"Don't worry Brooke, it'll just be showing him the ropes of the place, and then you don't have to worry about him no more, how does that sound?"

Brooke simply glared even harder, however, she didn't say no, mostly because she could feel the day's heavy dosage of fatigue catch up to her, and was starting to feel more weary by the moments.

"Good, now gotta' show our other new camper where his tent is."

"Who's the other newbie, probably got caught with overdue library books or something if he's anything like our new guy," Magnet teased, followed by his signature laugh, indirectly bashing Louis who just winced and sighed underneath his breath.

"It doesn't matter what he did in the past because by the time he leaves this camp he'll be a better person."

"So who is he," X-ray piqued up.

"His name is Michael, was a football player when he had been going to school; captain of the team to be exact. He'll be staying in tent-a until we can get something else situated, that is nearly filled to the top." Mom continued on, rubbing the back of his neck in thought, missing the way Brooke froze up in her spot, her eyes turning cold and steely as she stared down at her lap, her hands clenching till the point where her knuckles started to turn a milky white. Squid as well as Magnet froze up as well, sharing a glance; they too had a good guess who that might be.

"What'd you say his name was?" She said in a deathly calm voice, something that none of the others missed, even the newbie Louis.

"Michael."

"He wouldn't have brown hair, brown eyes, and tan skin by any chance?" She then asked.

"Well yes, he does. So I take it you know him, that's great, gives you someone else to talk to," Mom said with a smile, clearly not putting two and two together as he walked away, leaving the troubled girl behind, who had yet to snap, and only hadn't so far because of Squid's comforting hand that run and down her back, running in between her shoulder blades, and down her spine soothingly.

_No, it can't be! Anyone but him, anyone but him! _She cried hysterically to herself, feeling herself start to drift over the edge, wanting nothing more than to punch something, and to at the same time, cry to her heart's content.

Brooke couldn't believe that this was happening.

**To be continued…**

_A/N: SUPER SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE! I hit a major writer's block with this and just had to stay away from it for a while, but now I am back! However I can't promise annual updates because I have school and other stories to work on, so it will be whenever I find the time. PLEASE EXCUSE ANY GRAMMAR ERRORS!_

_To CurlyNerdy101__: Well, sorry, but now he's here, and ready to cause chaos x| yeah not looking forward to writing it, but it must be done!_

_To rebeccao11__: I am glad you're enjoying it, sorry for the super late update!_

_To X Blue Eyed Demon X__: I hope you enjoy this chapter!_

_To sarahmichellegellarfan1__: Sorry for the late updater, but here it is, and little longer for an extra apology!_

_To Nameless Angel 00__: Well I'm not going to give out any spoilers, however I will say that Michael will not going along unscathed. _

_To Guest__: Sorry! Here is a chapter!_

_To Louis Sachar__: Um, sorry? Lol sorry I just don't know what you're referring to in regards of the story…_


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24: The New Kid**

**3****rd**** POV**

_No, it couldn't be him… it could very well be some other person with that name… I mean, Michael's a popular name after all, _Brooke thought to herself with panic running in her veins, her jaw clenched. And while her thoughts ran a mile a minute, she was completely oblivious to how Squid seemed to be rubbing her back even more than before, stopping every couple of minutes to clench her shirt in his fist as his own fury started to show through.

Even Magnet looked to be completely tense; as if any moment a crazed psychopath was going to run in here and shoot everyone.

The rest of the d-tent, however, were glaring at Louis as the scrawny, small boy shifted on his feet nervously, his eyes dancing around the room like he wasn't sure where to look.

"Well toothpick, guess we're stuck with you now," X-ray lightly sighed, looking the boy up and down, before shaking his head lightly. It was obvious the boy looked like he didn't belong here; heck, he was so out of place that he couldn't even look any of them square in the eye, instead he kept shifting on his feet, waiting for the awkwardness to evaporate from the air.

"That is, if you'll survive," Zig-zag piped up with a small chuckle.

"Wha-what do you mean if I'll survive," Louis found himself stuttering lightly, on edge. Though what they didn't know, was that the reason to why he was on edge, was because of the girl who they called Beast, who sat only a couple feet away.

The way her metallic colored eyes pierced their "counselor" gave him shivers, and Louis found himself not wanting to find out how she got her nickname; her nickname sounded ten times more deadly than some of the other nicknames. After all, Zig-zag? Armpit? Those were exactly names that struck the fear into the hearts of many; they sounded more like a joke than juvenile criminals.

However he was completely unaware of the inner turmoil she was currently facing, desperately trying to calm herself down.

"You know because of all the creatures that roam around these parts, just looking for a nice, tasty little skinny boy to just eat up," Zig-zag cooed with a small, but malicious grin. "Rattlesnakes, scorpions, heck, even other campers here just waiting. But what you really got to watch for, are yellow-spotted lizards. With rattlesnakes you can at least suck out the venom, but with yellow-spotted lizards, one bite and you're echk," he stated, dragging his thumb over the base of his throat dramatically.

Louis frowned slightly, unbelieving at first until he glanced around and took in the somber looks of the rest of the d-tent. The thought caused him the flinch, something that made Zig-zag smirk with glee. Some of the other boys chuckled along, they too finding amusement in their newbie's obvious fear.

Taking his attention away from the interaction, Squid glanced at his girlfriend, scowling when he saw she was still reeling over the news. Leaning next to her ear, his chapped lips lightly rubbing the rim of her ear, he whispered softly, "c'mon, let's go take a walk, kay?"

That snapped her out of it as she turned back towards him, nodding her head with narrowed eyes. She then turned her piercing gaze back onto the Louis-kind, and scowled.

"Listen here, I'm not a babysitter, I'm not here to coddle you," Brooke growled, crossing her arms over her chest. "I have other things to do, I wasn't sent to this place just to show some newbie around," She snapped ferociously, and that was all she said before she left the tent with Squid glued to her side, leaving Louis to deal with his new "tent mates."

Once they were far enough away Squid reached down to grasp her hand, his eyes never leaving her. "You 'alight," he drawled softly.

"Psh, I'm fucking fine," Brooke shook off.

But they both knew the truth.

The metal eyed girl was far from fine.

**Michael POV**

Internally rolling my eyes, I listened absently as a man who everyone called Rattlesnake talk about how he was the leader of the tent, and how I had to do everything he said. I didn't really care much, usually I was the alpha male with everyone following me around like puppies, but in this case, it seemed I would have to step up my game because being "inferior" to him was definitely not something that I want to last very long. I don't do well with following orders; both my pride and ego couldn't handle too much of that.

Though I'll focus on that later, because at the moment, I wasn't there to gain some status at some troubled boy summer camp with mommy issues; I was here for one person and one person only. My Brookie.

_Oh sweetheart, I've missed you so much, _I thought to myself with a slight smirk curling at my lips, thinking about a certain metal eyed girl with pale bluish black hair, and beautiful ivory skin. I was well aware she was sent here, and so getting myself in trouble with the law didn't falter me a bit because really, it was only for a couple months; just enough to win back me girl who I had already forgiven for her little temper tantrum. Though I am still a little pissed off; those bullets hurt like bitch.

"Eh, newbie, Flare and I will show you around so don't fall behind," Rattlesnake commanded to me, and a boy with a red stripe in his hair and rather piercing eyes stepped right up next to her. He looked me up and down, mostly likely he was sizing me up, trying to see whether I was worthy or not.

"Sure," I answered coolly with a shrug, following after Rattlesnake, who had his loyal "puppy" as I liked to call him, Flare, by his side.

"The water barrels are over there, that's where you, obviously, get water whenever, and trust me, fill up on as much water as you can," he explained with a wave of his hand. Still internally rolling my eyes, I nodded and continued to follow him. Half listening to him as he showed me the "Wreck Room," the cafeteria, and where the showers were; mostly I was looking around for a certain shock of exotic looking hair, accompanied with a pair of silver beauties, but so far, all I could see was juvenile boys everywhere, much to my disappointment.

Besides, I had seen most of the stuff that Rattlesnake was showing me when I was with the counselor they liked to call Mom. And despite all the stupid nicknames I've been hearing, Mom suited that man more than anything; I could tell from the moment he spoke a single sentence to me that the man was one of those motherly types in a weird way. The way he badgered onto you was definitely something mothers did, but I also could tell he could care less about your thoughts as well, just telling you what you did was bad and wouldn't listen to anything otherwise. And the whole sentence about "just because you did a bad thing does not make you a bad person" sounded like he had rehearsed it a million times.

Sighing, I wiped a spot of sweat from my forehead, looking over at the Wreck room again whilst Rattlesnake was still blabbering about something, his back turned to me. And there I saw what I had been waiting for: my Brooke.

Her hair was tied up in some messy bun, wearing the same orange jumpsuit as anyone else, but the torso part was tied around her waist, showing off her white tee. Her cheeks were obviously flushed from the heat, and she was currently wiping off sweat from her face as well.

_Oh god, _I groaned to myself, licking my lips as I headed over to her as she stood obliviously, seeming looking around for something in particular; however I currently ignored it in favor of my quest to get her form into my arms. _She looks just as delicious as I remembered, damn, why do I feel like she's gotten even hotter? Maybe now that's she finally away from her annoying friend, and now that she's got a taste of me, she'll be willing to be mine… I mean, hell, after everything I bet she's finally admitted it to herself. _I grinned, not even caring that the two imbeciles I was with earlier have most likely noticed my absence.

Before she had a chance to notice my presence, I came up from behind my girl and snaked my arms tightly around her waist, pulling her smaller body into mine. I inwardly groaned again at the feel of her, ignoring how she tensed under my touch. "Hello again, my Brookie," I cooed against her fair skinned ear.

Then, before I realized what was happening, a hard object came out of nowhere and hit my face like a boulder, and my eyes were instantly covered by shadows as I blacked out.

**To be continued…**

_A/N: I know this is so late that late is not even a strong enough word for it. I sincerely apologize and hope you all enjoy this chapter. THANK YOU FOR FOLLOWING/FAVING/REVIEWING!_

_To .2016__: Thank you lots!:3_

_To Guest (1):__ Sorry for the late update._

_To X Blue Eyed Demon X__: Thank you, hope you enjoyed this update!_

_To Guest (2)__: Thank you._

_To Emmalicious:__ Hope you enjoyed the update._

_To FxckTheAgony:__ Sorry about the typos, I have a hard time noticing them because usually when I reread I skim to see if it makes sense and I'm not just writing gibberish and so usually typos and grammar errors go right over my head. Again, sorry. _

_To BlueMoonYeti__: Sorry about the super late update. _

_To iceandfire7103:__ I am really sorry it's been months, hopefully this update was worth it._

_To lunasky99__: Thank you so much for all your kind words :3. Don't worry about Magnet becoming bitter; I just can't see him like that. In Holes he was kind of sweet, he did sometimes act a little rude at times, but he was just being a juvenile boy. And I am glad that you like how I portrayed Brooke. I have read some stories where there were stoic girls, and then in like a single chapter they're incredibly sweet and not how their character was at all. Honestly that bugged me a little bit. Something I learned is that with stoic people it takes a lot of pushing for them to open up, and in some of the Holes stories it like they instantly become new people in the next chapter. I wanted to make this a little more realistic in regards with Brooke's behavior. For a girl as hardened as her, I wanted to make it so she keep serious parts of herself while maybe slightly being softer now that she had Squid in her life. If that makes sense. _

_To Jaden__: Sorry I took forever. _

_To BeautifulBookworm218__: Sorry, but Michaels spot there plays a huge role in this story!_

_To Tratie4thewin__: No she's no pregnant don't worry. Her sickness in the story is simply due to heat exhaustion and well as being frail herself. Imagine having to go from a "cozy" life to sudden having to work every single day under extreme heat doing physical labor. Despite that she may be used to physical labor it still can be damaging to the body. Mixture that with insomnia and stress from everything going on around her, it's easy to see why Brooke got sick._

_To Guest (3)/(4):__ Here you go!_


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